Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 1,219,027 Shares of Commercial Metals Company $CMC

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) by 39.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,876,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,219,027 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $129,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 169.6% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 110.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the third quarter valued at $73,000. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of CMC opened at $73.82 on Thursday. Commercial Metals Company has a twelve month low of $47.06 and a twelve month high of $84.87. The company has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.45.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.12). Commercial Metals had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Commercial Metals Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is 16.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Commercial Metals to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.10.

About Commercial Metals

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) is a leading global steel and metal recycler, manufacturer and fabricator based in Irving, Texas. The company operates an integrated network of scrap recycling facilities, electric arc furnace steel mills, metal fabrication plants and distribution centers. Through these operations, Commercial Metals collects and processes ferrous scrap to produce finished steel products and provides recycled metal to a variety of end markets.

In its steelmaking segment, CMC uses electric arc furnace technology to transform recycled scrap into reinforcing bar (rebar), merchant bar, coil and structural products.