Expect Equity LLC Invests $2.56 Million in Commercial Metals Company $CMC

Expect Equity LLC acquired a new position in Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 40,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,565,000. Commercial Metals comprises 1.7% of Expect Equity LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Qsemble Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 118.6% during the 4th quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 49,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,453,000 after acquiring an additional 27,062 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Commercial Metals by 11.5% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 277,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,070,000 after acquiring an additional 28,693 shares during the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,600,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Commercial Metals by 87.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,631,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,205,000 after purchasing an additional 760,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter worth about $11,457,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter R. Matt acquired 8,230 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $61.30 per share, with a total value of $504,499.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 181,522 shares in the company, valued at $11,127,298.60. This trade represents a 4.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John R. Mcpherson acquired 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.92 per share, with a total value of $99,968.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 21,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,576,989.84. This represents a 6.77% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Commercial Metals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Commercial Metals from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commercial Metals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.18.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 3.2%

NYSE CMC opened at $66.94 on Wednesday. Commercial Metals Company has a 1 year low of $53.08 and a 1 year high of $84.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $68.29 and its 200 day moving average is $69.60.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.03. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 6.72%.The business had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Commercial Metals’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Commercial Metals Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.07%.

Commercial Metals Company Profile

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.