Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 344,027 Shares of Commercial Metals Company $CMC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its holdings in Commercial Metals Company by 4.8%, selling 344,027 shares, and now owns 6,775,635 shares worth approximately $311.7 million.
• Commercial Metals reported $0.74 EPS for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85, with a net margin of only 0.48% and revenue decline of 2.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%, although its dividend payout ratio stands at a high 232.26%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,775,635 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 344,027 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 6.00% of Commercial Metals worth $311,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 666,886 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,754,840 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $87,040,000 after buying an additional 446,317 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,749,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $86,794,000 after buying an additional 162,201 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 37.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,568,021 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $72,145,000 after buying an additional 424,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,262,895 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $62,640,000 after buying an additional 17,360 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of CMC traded up $2.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 352,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,093,591. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.23 and a 200 day moving average of $48.59. The company has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.28. Commercial Metals Company has a 1 year low of $37.92 and a 1 year high of $64.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. 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 (DPR) is 232.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 price target (down from $57.00) on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wolfe Research raised Commercial Metals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.50 price target on Commercial Metals in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Commercial Metals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.81.

Commercial Metals Company 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.