Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $65.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

CMC has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $56.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets set a $62.00 price objective on Commercial Metals and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.33.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

Commercial Metals stock opened at $50.27 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.11. Commercial Metals has a 1 year low of $47.42 and a 1 year high of $64.53.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The basic materials company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 12.20%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is 17.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commercial Metals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in Commercial Metals during the second quarter worth $50,132,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 122.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,245,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,455,000 after purchasing an additional 686,519 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals in the third quarter valued at about $16,731,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 204.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 420,808 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,570,000 after buying an additional 282,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 163.5% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 219,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,756,000 after buying an additional 136,367 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

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.