Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 17,931 Shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,714,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,931 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.50% of Commercial Metals worth $94,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,830,412 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $320,439,000 after buying an additional 24,665 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,839,601 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $156,093,000 after acquiring an additional 28,019 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,176,959 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $119,646,000 after purchasing an additional 41,206 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,462,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $80,369,000 after purchasing an additional 18,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 58.0% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,440,531 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $79,172,000 after purchasing an additional 528,876 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 1.5 %

CMC stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,106,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,590. The firm's 50-day moving average is $57.84 and its 200-day moving average is $55.11. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Commercial Metals has a 12 month low of $47.42 and a 12 month high of $64.53. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.15.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The basic materials company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.01). Commercial Metals had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Commercial Metals's payout ratio is presently 17.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CMC. Wolfe Research lowered Commercial Metals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Thursday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $62.00 target price on shares of Commercial Metals and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $56.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.33.

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.