New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Holdings in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,420 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.16% of Commercial Metals worth $9,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMC. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in Commercial Metals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Commercial Metals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 35,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.88, for a total value of $2,066,547.52. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 36,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,095,024.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,489 shares of company stock valued at $6,371,781. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

CMC stock opened at $54.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.50. The company has a current ratio of 4.19, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $39.85 and a 12-month high of $59.81.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.05). Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 8.09%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 5.34 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

About Commercial Metals

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.