SEB Asset Management AB Takes Position in Commercial Metals Company $CMC

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 145,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,957,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC increased its stake in Commercial Metals by 48.5% during the first quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 8,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 2,906 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,059,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 277,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,070,000 after purchasing an additional 28,693 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 977,024 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,019,000 after purchasing an additional 8,911 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

Shares of CMC stock opened at $67.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.54. Commercial Metals Company has a 52-week low of $49.66 and a 52-week high of $84.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.54.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.03. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 6.72%.The company had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Commercial Metals Company will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Commercial Metals from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Commercial Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.45.

Insider Activity at Commercial Metals

In related news, CEO Peter R. Matt purchased 8,230 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.30 per share, with a total value of $504,499.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 181,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,127,298.60. This represents a 4.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.