Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Trims Position in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,119,662 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 137,367 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 6.26% of Commercial Metals worth $353,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth $69,261,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 worth $95,204,000 after buying an additional 893,094 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Commercial Metals by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,576,316 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $78,185,000 after acquiring an additional 495,163 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,754,840 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $87,040,000 after acquiring an additional 446,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Commercial Metals by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,422,427 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $120,152,000 after acquiring an additional 245,468 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMC has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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 research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Commercial Metals from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, 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 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, Commercial Metals presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.33.

Insider Activity at Commercial Metals

In related news, Director John R. Mcpherson bought 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $40.42 per share, for a total transaction of $100,039.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,141 shares in the company, valued at $611,999.22. This represents a 19.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

CMC traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $44.20. 729,533 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 953,178. Commercial Metals has a fifty-two week low of $37.92 and a fifty-two week high of $64.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16. The business's fifty day moving average is $45.37 and its 200 day moving average is $51.13.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 1.70%. The business's revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio is presently 120.00%.

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.