AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 176,728 Shares of Commercial Metals Company $CMC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) by 41.5%, owning approximately 602,489 shares valued at about $27 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• The company's stock price rose 1.9% on Thursday, trading at $59.42, while the market capitalization is currently around $6.65 billion.
• Commercial Metals recently posted a net margin of 0.48% and earnings per share of $0.74, missing expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.18.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 41.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 602,489 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 176,728 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.53% of Commercial Metals worth $27,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 80.3% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 51.9% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 784 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals in the first quarter worth $47,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

CMC stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.86. The stock had a trading volume of 624,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,103. Commercial Metals Company has a 52 week low of $37.92 and a 52 week high of $64.53. The stock's 50 day moving average is $54.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 186.65, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMC. Wolfe Research raised Commercial Metals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Commercial Metals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Commercial Metals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Commercial Metals from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.81.

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.