Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 60.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,826 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 32,169 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $1,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 71,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,529,000 after buying an additional 28,297 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 30,079 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 8,828 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 290,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,431,000 after purchasing an additional 56,666 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,884 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,801 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John R. Mcpherson bought 2,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.42 per share, with a total value of $100,039.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 15,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,999.22. This trade represents a 19.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CMC. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.33.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMC opened at $47.77 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Commercial Metals has a twelve month low of $37.92 and a twelve month high of $64.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.27. The stock has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Commercial Metals's payout ratio is currently 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.

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