Cemex (NYSE:CX) Stock Rating Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Cemex (NYSE:CX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Cemex from $13.50 to $13.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cemex from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup upgraded Cemex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $13.70 to $12.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cemex in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Cemex from $14.10 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.94.

Cemex Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE CX opened at $10.21 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.61. Cemex has a 52-week low of $9.30 and a 52-week high of $13.67. The firm has a market cap of $14.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Cemex (NYSE:CX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The construction company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.59 billion during the quarter. Cemex had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 3.82%. Equities analysts predict that Cemex will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cemex news, EVP Mauricio Doehner sold 927,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total transaction of $8,880,003.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 584,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,597,780.10. The trade was a 61.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Zambrano Lozano acquired 400,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.28 per share, for a total transaction of $6,925,824.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $172,800,000. The trade was a 4.18% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Cemex by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 21,224,097 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $201,841,000 after buying an additional 1,951,012 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cemex by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 227,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,293,000 after buying an additional 24,797 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cemex by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,006 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 2,915 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Cemex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $683,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Trust Co acquired a new position in Cemex in the second quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

About Cemex

Cemex, SAB. de C.V. is a global building materials company headquartered in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico. The company produces and markets cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and related construction materials used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

Cemex also provides construction solutions and services, including materials distribution, logistics and digital tools designed to support contractors, builders and other customers. Its products serve a broad range of applications, from housing and commercial development to roads, bridges, airports and other major infrastructure.

Founded in Mexico in 1906, Cemex has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions into an international business serving customers across the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.