Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 244,177 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,820 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.21% of Commercial Metals worth $12,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 6.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,081,153 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $59,420,000 after purchasing an additional 66,092 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,714,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $94,208,000 after buying an additional 17,931 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 71,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,529,000 after buying an additional 28,297 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 108.0% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 18,103 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 9,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covea Finance grew its position in Commercial Metals by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 62,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,075,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Commercial Metals from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commercial Metals presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.33.

Insider Transactions at Commercial Metals

In other Commercial Metals news, Director John R. Mcpherson purchased 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $40.42 per share, with a total value of $100,039.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,999.22. This trade represents a 19.54 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE CMC traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.15. The company had a trading volume of 91,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 946,425. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 37.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $46.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.78. Commercial Metals has a 1-year low of $37.92 and a 1-year high of $64.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.05). Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 1.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.00%.

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.