Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $56.00 to $53.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Commercial Metals traded as low as $43.37 and last traded at $43.47, with a volume of 277378 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.86.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CMC. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commercial Metals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,830,412 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $320,439,000 after purchasing an additional 24,665 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,055,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,178,000 after purchasing an additional 243,921 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,839,601 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $156,093,000 after purchasing an additional 28,019 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,422,427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,152,000 after purchasing an additional 245,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,919,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,204,000 after purchasing an additional 893,094 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.17.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 16th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 16th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.86%.

Commercial Metals Company Profile

Commercial Metals Company manufactures, recycles, and fabricates steel and metal products, and related materials and services in the United States, Poland, China, and internationally. It operates through two segments, North America and Europe. The company processes and sells ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals to steel mills and foundries, aluminum sheet and ingot manufacturers, brass and bronze ingot makers, copper refineries and mills, secondary lead smelters, specialty steel mills, high temperature alloy manufacturers, and other consumers.