Systematic Financial Management LP Trims Stake in Commercial Metals Company $CMC

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its stake in Commercial Metals by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 15,435 shares and leaving it with 548,320 shares valued at about $38 million.
• Commercial Metals reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $1.16 missed expectations, while revenue of $2.13 billion came in slightly above estimates and rose 21.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share from $0.18, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $74.82.

Systematic Financial Management LP lowered its stake in Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 548,320 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 15,435 shares during the quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP owned approximately 0.49% of Commercial Metals worth $37,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 430.9% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 29,247 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,675,000 after buying an additional 23,738 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the third quarter worth about $821,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 6.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,823,923 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $104,474,000 after buying an additional 112,267 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 7.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 884,604 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $50,670,000 after buying an additional 64,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Commercial Metals by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 459,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,329,000 after acquiring an additional 56,705 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Commercial Metals to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Commercial Metals from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays assumed coverage on Commercial Metals in a report on Thursday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Commercial Metals in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Commercial Metals in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commercial Metals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.82.

Commercial Metals Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of CMC opened at $71.87 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.49. Commercial Metals Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.50 and a fifty-two week high of $84.87.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 6.02%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Commercial Metals Company will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

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

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.

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