Cemex (NYSE:CX) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cemex (NYSE:CX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Santander upgraded shares of Cemex to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Cemex from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Cemex from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Cemex from $12.75 to $13.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Cemex from $14.10 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cemex has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.07.

Cemex Stock Performance

Shares of CX opened at $11.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32 and a beta of 1.53. 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 has a 1 year low of $8.44 and a 1 year high of $13.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.18.

Cemex (NYSE:CX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The construction company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.59 billion for the quarter. Cemex had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 3.82%. On average, equities analysts expect that Cemex will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cemex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a $0.0312 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This is an increase from Cemex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Cemex’s dividend payout ratio is 35.29%.

Institutional Trading of Cemex

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cemex by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,802 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cemex by 0.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 319,835 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,875,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Cemex by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 28,609 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cemex by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 19,598 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Cemex by 3.3% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 43,093 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.