Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Cut to “Neutral” at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas lowered shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

CMC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets set a $62.00 price target on Commercial Metals and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research lowered Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.67.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Shares of CMC stock opened at $48.89 on Friday. Commercial Metals has a 52-week low of $47.42 and a 52-week high of $64.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.03.

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

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 16th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is currently 17.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commercial Metals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CMC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Commercial Metals by 2.6% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 17,604 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,393 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals in the second quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 525.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 11,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Commercial Metals during the second quarter worth approximately $566,000. 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.