Strs Ohio Trims Stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Strs Ohio reduced its position in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 44.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Preferred LLC increased its holdings in Commercial Metals by 114.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 60,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,051,000 after purchasing an additional 32,393 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 118,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,950,000 after acquiring an additional 22,619 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 270.1% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 137,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,918,000 after acquiring an additional 100,160 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 91.3% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 91,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,528,000 after acquiring an additional 43,734 shares during the period. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 3rd quarter valued at $690,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CMC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Commercial Metals in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Commercial Metals Stock Down 1.2 %

Commercial Metals stock opened at $54.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 1.33. Commercial Metals has a 1-year low of $39.85 and a 1-year high of $59.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.23.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.88 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 5.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Commercial Metals news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 60,166 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 96,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,923,854.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.52, for a total value 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 approximately $635,653.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 60,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 120,089 shares of company stock valued at $6,402,693. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.