Commercial Metals Company $CMC Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) by 46.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 19,108 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $1,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in Commercial Metals by 169.6% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Commercial Metals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new position in Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Trading Up 1.2%

Commercial Metals stock opened at $76.66 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Commercial Metals Company has a 12 month low of $47.06 and a 12 month high of $84.87. The stock has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.50.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.12). Commercial Metals had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Commercial Metals Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Commercial Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.10.

About Commercial Metals

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) is a leading global steel and metal recycler, manufacturer and fabricator based in Irving, Texas. The company operates an integrated network of scrap recycling facilities, electric arc furnace steel mills, metal fabrication plants and distribution centers. Through these operations, Commercial Metals collects and processes ferrous scrap to produce finished steel products and provides recycled metal to a variety of end markets.

In its steelmaking segment, CMC uses electric arc furnace technology to transform recycled scrap into reinforcing bar (rebar), merchant bar, coil and structural products.