Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,007 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $1,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 23,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 14,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CMC. StockNews.com cut shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of 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, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company.

Insider Transactions at Commercial Metals

In other Commercial Metals news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 23,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,219,921.35. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 72,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,739,460. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 119,489 shares of company stock worth $6,371,781. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Shares of CMC stock opened at $53.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 4.19. Commercial Metals has a one year low of $39.85 and a one year high of $59.81. The firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 1.33.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.05). Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 8.09%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 5.34 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

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.