Cemex (NYSE:CX) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $11.85 and last traded at $11.8250, with a volume of 575568 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Cemex from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Cemex from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America raised Cemex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $10.80 in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Cemex from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cemex in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.14.

Cemex Trading Down 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.08. 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 announced 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 company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $226.73 million. Cemex had a return on equity of 6.85% and a net margin of 8.62%. Research analysts predict that Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cemex Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Cemex

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CX. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 71,047 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Cemex by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 813,753 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,639,000 after acquiring an additional 69,979 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Cemex by 7.7% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 32,648,163 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $226,252,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337,817 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Cemex in the second quarter worth about $1,322,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Cemex by 4.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,785,660 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,018,000 after purchasing an additional 77,898 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.