Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Position in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 243,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,934 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.21% of Commercial Metals worth $12,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Commercial Metals by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter valued at $105,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Commercial Metals

In other news, Director John R. Mcpherson acquired 2,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $40.42 per share, for a total transaction of $100,039.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,999.22. This trade represents a 19.54 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CMC shares. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.33.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

CMC stock opened at $41.78 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.64. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 37.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $37.92 and a 12-month high of $64.53.

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

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio 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.