Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Price Target to $62.00

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) had its price objective trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $62.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CMC. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Commercial Metals in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $56.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Commercial Metals from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.17.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

CMC stock opened at $50.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.01. Commercial Metals has a 52-week low of $47.42 and a 52-week high of $64.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 6.13%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 16th. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is presently 17.39%.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CMC. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Commercial Metals by 29.7% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.