Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 241.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,809,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,279,617 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.55% of Commercial Metals worth $90,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter valued at $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Commercial Metals news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 35,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.88, for a total transaction of $2,066,547.52. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 36,196 shares in the company, valued at $2,095,024.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Commercial Metals stock opened at $55.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.35. Commercial Metals has a one year low of $39.85 and a one year high of $59.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.65. 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 (NYSE:CMC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

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.