Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Commercial Metals Company $CMC

Key Points

• Institutional trades: Principal Financial Group trimmed its stake in Commercial Metals by 1.3% to 1,268,481 shares (about 1.14% of the company) worth $87.8M, while Artemis Investment Management opened a new position of roughly $104M and institutions own about 86.9% of the stock.
• Earnings and stock metrics: CMC reported quarterly EPS of $1.16, missing estimates by $0.12, but revenue rose 21.5% YoY to $2.13B and the shares trade near $72.30 with a market cap of $8.02B.
• Dividend and analyst view: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (annualized $0.80, yield 1.1%), and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $71.50 price target (1 Strong Buy, 7 Buy, 5 Hold).

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,268,481 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 16,879 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.14% of Commercial Metals worth $87,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,432 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 148,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,251,000 after buying an additional 18,900 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,962,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 20,396 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,412,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Commercial Metals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $85.00 price target on Commercial Metals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMC opened at $72.30 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $65.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.00. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.38. Commercial Metals Company has a one year low of $44.67 and a one year high of $84.87.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.54%. Commercial Metals's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Commercial Metals Company will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from Commercial Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Commercial Metals's payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Commercial Metals 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.

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