Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 6,823 Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,823 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted 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 purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commercial Metals

In other Commercial Metals news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 60,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total value of $3,085,312.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 96,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,923,854.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 60,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total value of $3,085,312.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 96,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,923,854.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $635,653.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 120,089 shares of company stock valued at $6,402,693 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Commercial Metals stock opened at $54.45 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 1.33. 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.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 5.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CMC shares. StockNews.com lowered Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Commercial Metals in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock.

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.