Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,299 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CMC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,477,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Commercial Metals by 22.3% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,494,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $312,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367,997 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 26.7% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,506,247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $123,834,000 after acquiring an additional 527,709 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 4.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,450,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $615,159,000 after acquiring an additional 487,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 33.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,652,812 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,790,000 after acquiring an additional 409,679 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

NYSE:CMC opened at $55.20 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 1.33. Commercial Metals has a fifty-two week low of $39.85 and a fifty-two week high of $59.81. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.89.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) 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). Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 8.09%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 5.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CMC. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Commercial Metals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 57,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total value of $2,856,268.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 156,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,799,878.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Commercial Metals news, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.52, for a total transaction of $30,912.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $635,653.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 57,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total value of $2,856,268.36. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 156,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,799,878.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 320,089 shares of company stock valued at $16,383,553 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Commercial Metals

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.