California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,006 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,760 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.22% of Commercial Metals worth $12,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CMC. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 33,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 17,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter worth about $105,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter worth about $69,261,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,576,316 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,185,000 after acquiring an additional 495,163 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CMC shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.33.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

NYSE CMC opened at $40.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.17. Commercial Metals has a fifty-two week low of $37.92 and a fifty-two week high of $64.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.76.

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

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is currently 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.