Cemex (NYSE:CX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cemex (NYSE:CX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cemex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cemex from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Cemex from $13.25 to $13.75 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cemex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Bradesco Corretora upgraded Cemex from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.92.

Cemex Price Performance

Shares of Cemex stock opened at $10.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.24 and a 200 day moving average of $11.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Cemex has a 12 month low of $9.30 and a 12 month high of $13.67.

Cemex (NYSE:CX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The construction company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. Cemex had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 3.60%. On average, research analysts expect that Cemex will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cemex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.0312 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cemex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP De La Garza Oscar Bal Elizondo sold 212,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.68, for a total transaction of $2,271,422.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 289,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,091,753.20. This represents a 42.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Zambrano Lozano purchased 400,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.28 per share, for a total transaction of $6,925,824.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $172,800,000. The trade was a 4.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cemex by 12.2% during the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 14,003 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. NFSG Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Cemex by 123.5% during the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 2,858 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Cemex by 7.7% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 28,244 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cemex by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 109,269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd boosted its stake in Cemex by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 25,263 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cemex Company Profile

Cemex, SAB. de C.V. is a global building materials company headquartered in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico. The company produces and markets cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and related construction materials used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

Cemex also provides construction solutions and services, including materials distribution, logistics and digital tools designed to support contractors, builders and other customers. Its products serve a broad range of applications, from housing and commercial development to roads, bridges, airports and other major infrastructure.

Founded in Mexico in 1906, Cemex has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions into an international business serving customers across the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.