Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Purchases 24,510 Shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 178,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,510 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.16% of Commercial Metals worth $8,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Commercial Metals by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 784 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,490 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the first quarter worth $175,000. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 5.4% during the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 8,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 93,700.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,690 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CMC traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $48.65. 721,950 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 977,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.76. Commercial Metals has a one year low of $37.92 and a one year high of $64.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.02. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 43.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John R. Mcpherson acquired 2,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $40.42 per share, for a total transaction of $100,039.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,999.22. The trade was a 19.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Friday, May 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Commercial Metals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.00.

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.