Cemex (NYSE:CX) Upgraded to “Sector Outperform” at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Cemex (NYSE:CX) from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $13.90 price objective on the construction company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $13.50.

CX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cemex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cemex in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. HSBC cut shares of Cemex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $12.80 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Cemex in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.08.

Cemex Trading Down 1.3%

Cemex stock opened at $10.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.82. Cemex has a 52 week low of $4.89 and a 52 week high of $13.35. The stock has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Cemex (NYSE:CX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.38). Cemex had a net margin of 5.93% and a return on equity of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $4.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Cemex will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cemex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $0.0225 dividend. This is a boost from Cemex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Cemex’s dividend payout ratio is 13.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cemex

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Cemex by 334.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,189 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cemex by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,187,143 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,320,000 after buying an additional 2,661,030 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of Cemex in the 2nd quarter worth $79,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Cemex by 142.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 120,982 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $838,000 after acquiring an additional 71,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cemex in the second quarter valued at $108,000. 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.