32,800 Shares in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 32,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,641,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Preferred LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 32,393 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 22,619 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 100,160 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 43,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC acquired a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $690,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Shares of CMC opened at $55.21 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.10. 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 $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 2.69.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.88 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’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 year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. 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 1.30%. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Commercial Metals news, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.52, for a total value of $30,912.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $635,653.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Commercial Metals news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 23,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,219,921.35. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 72,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,739,460. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.52, for a total value of $30,912.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,338 shares in the company, valued at $635,653.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 120,089 shares of company stock valued at $6,402,693 over the last three months. Company 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.