Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Stock Price

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

A number of other analysts also recently commented on CMC. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $56.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas lowered Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Commercial Metals from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.17.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

NYSE CMC opened at $47.65 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $56.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.92. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $47.41 and a 12-month high of $64.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 6.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. Commercial Metals’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 16th. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is currently 17.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMC. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the second quarter worth about $50,132,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $68,455,000 after acquiring an additional 686,519 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in Commercial Metals in the 3rd quarter valued at $16,731,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 282,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 17.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 774,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,203,000 after purchasing an additional 115,326 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.