Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Position in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 118.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,071 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 19,553 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMC. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the third quarter worth $51,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the third quarter worth $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CMC. StockNews.com cut Commercial Metals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group began coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

Shares of CMC traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.48. The stock had a trading volume of 530,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 699,467. Commercial Metals has a 12 month low of $39.85 and a 12 month high of $59.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 4.19. The company's 50-day moving average is $55.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.33.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The firm's revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 5.34 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from Commercial Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 60,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total transaction of $3,085,312.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 96,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,923,854.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 119,489 shares of company stock valued at $6,371,781 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.