Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 8,237 Shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 49,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,237 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $2,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,055,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,178,000 after buying an additional 243,921 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Commercial Metals by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,422,427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,152,000 after buying an additional 245,468 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Commercial Metals by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,919,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $95,204,000 after buying an additional 893,094 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,754,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,040,000 after purchasing an additional 446,317 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,749,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,794,000 after purchasing an additional 162,201 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CMC. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.33.

Insider Activity at Commercial Metals

In other Commercial Metals news, Director John R. Mcpherson bought 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $40.42 per share, with a total value of $100,039.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,999.22. This trade represents a 19.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Commercial Metals Trading Up 0.6%

Commercial Metals stock opened at $48.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 43.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.79 and its 200 day moving average is $50.41. Commercial Metals has a one year low of $37.92 and a one year high of $64.53.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.00%.

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.