Morgan Stanley Boosts Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Price Target to $53.00

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $48.00 to $53.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Friday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Friday, May 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Commercial Metals has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.00.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

CMC traded up $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,010,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 985,064. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $46.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 82.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.27. Commercial Metals has a one year low of $37.92 and a one year high of $64.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, June 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 0.94%. Commercial Metals's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio is currently 120.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Mcpherson acquired 2,475 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $40.42 per share, for a total transaction of $100,039.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,141 shares in the company, valued at $611,999.22. The trade was a 19.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commercial Metals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth $69,261,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the first quarter worth about $44,345,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,919,445 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $95,204,000 after acquiring an additional 893,094 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 4,372.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 759,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,944,000 after purchasing an additional 742,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Commercial Metals by 86.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,587,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $73,030,000 after purchasing an additional 734,265 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.