Dark Forest Capital Management LP Lowers Stock Position in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP reduced its position in shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) by 72.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,194 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 34,601 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Commercial Metals were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMC. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 346.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 121,185 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,035,000 after buying an additional 94,069 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 130,553 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,475,000 after acquiring an additional 7,195 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Commercial Metals by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,754,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,040,000 after purchasing an additional 446,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter valued at $139,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

CMC opened at $44.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.13. Commercial Metals has a twelve month low of $37.92 and a twelve month high of $64.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.82, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is 120.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas cut Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John R. Mcpherson purchased 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.42 per share, for a total transaction of $100,039.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,999.22. This represents a 19.54 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Commercial Metals

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.