Short Interest in Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) Drops By 25.0%

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) saw a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,054,129 shares, a drop of 25.0% from the November 30th total of 10,744,515 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,151,048 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,151,048 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CX. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Cemex from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Cemex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Cemex from $7.00 to $8.25 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cemex from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Cemex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $10.80 in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.14.

Cemex Stock Performance

NYSE:CX traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $11.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,276,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,718,291. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.23. The stock has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61. Cemex has a 52-week low of $4.89 and a 52-week high of $12.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Cemex (NYSE:CX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $226.73 million. Cemex had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 6.85%. As a group, research analysts predict that Cemex will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cemex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.0224 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Cemex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cemex

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of Cemex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 96,734,370 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $869,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710,535 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in Cemex by 7.7% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 32,648,163 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $226,252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337,817 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its position in Cemex by 90.2% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 26,300,519 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $182,263,000 after buying an additional 12,469,417 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Cemex by 451.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,897,356 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $151,907,000 after buying an additional 13,834,438 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Cemex by 4.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,183,183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $109,530,000 after buying an additional 499,504 shares during the period. 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.