Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.7722.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cemex in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cemex from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Cemex from $13.90 to $14.10 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cemex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Cemex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd.

Cemex Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of CX opened at $12.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.87. Cemex has a one year low of $7.12 and a one year high of $13.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.34 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.13.

Cemex (NYSE:CX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The construction company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter. Cemex had a return on equity of 3.64% and a net margin of 2.74%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cemex will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cemex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.0312 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Cemex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Cemex’s payout ratio is presently 37.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Herrera Jesus Vicente Gonzalez sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.16, for a total value of $425,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 846,010 shares in the company, valued at $10,287,481.60. This represents a 3.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cemex

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Cemex by 406.2% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 26,348,884 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,749,000 after purchasing an additional 21,143,554 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Cemex by 451.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,897,356 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $151,907,000 after purchasing an additional 13,834,438 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its holdings in Cemex by 90.2% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 26,300,519 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $182,263,000 after purchasing an additional 12,469,417 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Cemex by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 10,857,832 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $125,392,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Cemex by 1,747.0% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 3,646,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,710,000 after buying an additional 3,448,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Cemex Company Profile

Cemex (NYSE: CX) is a global building materials company headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. The company produces, distributes and sells cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates, as well as related building materials, to construction markets in more than 50 countries. Cemex’s product portfolio also includes asphalt and mortar mixes, waste-derived fuels and other complementary construction solutions, supported by a network of production facilities, distribution centers and logistics operations.

Founded in 1906 as Cementos Hidalgo, the company adopted the Cemex name in 1976 following a series of domestic mergers and expansions.