Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,248,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 229,099 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.78% of Commercial Metals worth $607,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CMC. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Commercial Metals by 122.8% during the third 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 purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the 3rd quarter valued at $16,731,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,422,427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,152,000 after purchasing an additional 245,468 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Commercial Metals by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,055,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,178,000 after purchasing an additional 243,921 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,052,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.33.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

Shares of CMC opened at $46.15 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.71. Commercial Metals has a fifty-two week low of $42.62 and a fifty-two week high of $64.53. The stock has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 41.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.76.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.05). Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 1.70%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.00%.

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.