First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 34.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,754,840 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 446,317 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.54% of Commercial Metals worth $87,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,261,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,919,445 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $95,204,000 after purchasing an additional 893,094 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,576,316 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $78,185,000 after purchasing an additional 495,163 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,422,427 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $120,152,000 after purchasing an additional 245,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,055,150 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $201,178,000 after purchasing an additional 243,921 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. BNP Paribas lowered Commercial Metals from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.33.

Commercial Metals Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of CMC traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.20. 729,533 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 954,874. Commercial Metals has a 1 year low of $37.92 and a 1 year high of $64.53. The firm's fifty day moving average is $45.37 and its 200-day moving average is $51.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio is presently 120.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Mcpherson bought 2,475 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.42 per share, for a total transaction of $100,039.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,999.22. The trade was a 19.54 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Commercial Metals 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.