ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC Buys 198,720 Shares of Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. $CX

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC boosted its position in Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) by 40.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 691,420 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 198,720 shares during the quarter. Cemex makes up about 6.1% of ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s holdings in Cemex were worth $7,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TT International Asset Management LTD bought a new position in shares of Cemex in the fourth quarter worth $2,781,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Cemex by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 12,328,806 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $141,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,140 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Cemex during the fourth quarter valued at about $15,753,000. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Cemex in the fourth quarter worth about $10,669,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new stake in Cemex in the fourth quarter worth about $2,857,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cemex Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE CX opened at $12.07 on Monday. Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. has a 12 month low of $8.15 and a 12 month high of $13.67. The company has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Cemex (NYSE:CX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24. The firm had revenue of $4.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. Cemex had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 3.82%. Equities research analysts expect that Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cemex Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cemex

In other news, insider Herrera Jesus Vicente Gonzalez sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.16, for a total transaction of $425,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 846,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,287,481.60. This trade represents a 3.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CX. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Cemex from $14.10 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cemex from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Cemex from $12.75 to $13.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Santander upgraded shares of Cemex to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cemex in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.07.

Cemex 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.