Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.86.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commercial Metals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cim LLC grew its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 41,784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,475,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 8,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $49.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.27.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 1.70%. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 16th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio 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.