AlphaQuest LLC Sells 15,970 Shares of Commercial Metals Company $CMC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly reduced its stake in Commercial Metals Company by 93.5%, selling 15,970 shares and leaving it with only 1,109 shares valued at $51,000.
• Commercial Metals reported a disappointing EPS of $0.74 for the latest quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.85, and its revenue declined by 2.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, representing a 1.3% yield, despite having a high payout ratio of 232.26%.

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 93.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,109 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 15,970 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $51,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,345,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 4,372.6% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 759,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,944,000 after purchasing an additional 742,503 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 86.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,587,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $73,030,000 after acquiring an additional 734,265 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 27.5% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,089,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $142,139,000 after purchasing an additional 666,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 15,350.0% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 568,095 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,178,000 after purchasing an additional 564,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Commercial Metals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.50 price objective on Commercial Metals in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 price target (down previously from $57.00) on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Commercial Metals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Friday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.81.

Commercial Metals Trading Up 0.6%

CMC stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $59.56. 520,485 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,083,453. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 192.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $54.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.11. Commercial Metals Company has a one year low of $37.92 and a one year high of $64.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.11). Commercial Metals had a net margin of 0.48% and a return on equity of 7.45%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Commercial Metals Company will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Commercial Metals's payout ratio is 232.26%.

Commercial Metals 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.