Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,933 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 856 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CMC. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its position in Commercial Metals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,449,314 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,886,000 after acquiring an additional 8,783 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 226,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 269.0% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 42,840 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,342,000. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 7,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of CMC opened at $47.05 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.65. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $42.62 and a 12-month high of $64.53.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 9.88%. Commercial Metals’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 120.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CMC. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. BNP Paribas cut shares of Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Commercial Metals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.33.

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.