Cemex (NYSE:CX) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.81 and last traded at $12.8150, with a volume of 989251 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CX. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Cemex from $7.00 to $8.25 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Cemex from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cemex in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Cemex from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Cemex from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Four equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.14.

Cemex Stock Up 2.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Cemex (NYSE:CX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.15. Cemex had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 6.85%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $226.73 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cemex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.0224 dividend. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Cemex’s payout ratio is currently 9.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Cemex by 142.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 120,982 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 71,047 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cemex during the second quarter worth about $1,322,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cemex by 9.4% during the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 813,753 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,639,000 after purchasing an additional 69,979 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,337,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cemex during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,835,000. 82.97% of the stock is 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.