Cemex (NYSE:CX) Stock Price Up 6.3% Following Strong Earnings

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) rose 6.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $12.51 and last traded at $12.5140. Approximately 2,029,904 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 6,666,157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.77.

The construction company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. Cemex had a net margin of 5.93% and a return on equity of 2.85%.

Cemex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Cemex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. Cemex’s payout ratio is presently 13.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cemex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cemex in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cemex in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Cemex from $13.90 to $14.10 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Cemex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $12.80 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cemex

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in Cemex by 1.8% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 96,734,370 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $869,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710,535 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in Cemex by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 36,132,733 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $415,165,000 after buying an additional 1,225,219 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Cemex by 406.2% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 26,348,884 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $302,749,000 after buying an additional 21,143,554 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Cemex by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,191,754 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $243,494,000 after buying an additional 2,182,666 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Cemex by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,737,871 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $215,298,000 after buying an additional 1,840,515 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cemex Trading Up 6.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.26. The company has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 1.60.

About Cemex

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.