Great Lakes Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in Commercial Metals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Commercial Metals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth about $74,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Commercial Metals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th.

Commercial Metals Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE CMC opened at $56.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.35. Commercial Metals has a 12 month low of $39.85 and a 12 month high of $59.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.39 and a 200-day moving average of $52.07.

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

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commercial Metals

In other news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 35,704 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.88, for a total value of $2,066,547.52. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 36,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,095,024.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.