Commercial Metals Company $CMC Holdings Trimmed by Franklin Resources Inc.

Key Points

• Franklin Resources trimmed its stake in Commercial Metals by 3.1% in Q3, selling 98,185 shares and leaving it with 3,095,745 shares (about a 2.79% ownership) valued at roughly $177.3 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is largely positive with eight Buy ratings vs four Holds and an average target of $72.80, while recent price targets from major firms range roughly from the high $70s to mid $80s (e.g., JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies).
• Notable insider activity: director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,000 shares at $74.69 while insider Jennifer Durbin sold 25,050 shares (~$2.0M); the company also reported an EPS beat (Q: $1.84 vs. $1.55 expected) and pays a $0.18 quarterly dividend.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,095,745 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 98,185 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.79% of Commercial Metals worth $177,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Commercial Metals during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in Commercial Metals by 169.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 515 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 282.3% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 692 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 615 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $85.00 price target on Commercial Metals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Commercial Metals from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $64.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Commercial Metals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Commercial Metals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.80.

Insider Activity at Commercial Metals

In other news, insider Jennifer J. Durbin sold 25,050 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.97, for a total transaction of $2,003,248.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 52,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,228,813.60. This trade represents a 32.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.69 per share, with a total value of $149,380.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at $689,986.22. This represents a 27.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

Shares of Commercial Metals stock opened at $61.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 4.47 and a quick ratio of 3.70. Commercial Metals Company has a fifty-two week low of $37.92 and a fifty-two week high of $84.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.25. The company has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.47.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 8th. The basic materials company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 11.43%. The business's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Analysts expect that Commercial Metals Company will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. Commercial Metals's payout ratio is currently 18.56%.

Commercial Metals Company Profile

Commercial Metals Company NYSE: CMC is a leading global steel and metal recycler, manufacturer and fabricator based in Irving, Texas. The company operates an integrated network of scrap recycling facilities, electric arc furnace steel mills, metal fabrication plants and distribution centers. Through these operations, Commercial Metals collects and processes ferrous scrap to produce finished steel products and provides recycled metal to a variety of end markets.

In its steelmaking segment, CMC uses electric arc furnace technology to transform recycled scrap into reinforcing bar (rebar), merchant bar, coil and structural products.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CMC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.