De La Garza Oscar Bal Elizondo Sells 212,680 Shares of Cemex (NYSE:CX) Stock

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) VP De La Garza Oscar Bal Elizondo sold 212,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.68, for a total value of $2,271,422.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 289,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,091,753.20. This trade represents a 42.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Cemex Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of Cemex stock opened at $11.07 on Friday. Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. has a 12-month low of $8.73 and a 12-month high of $13.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.56 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Cemex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a $0.0312 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This is a boost from Cemex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Cemex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cemex

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Cemex by 406.2% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 26,348,884 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,749,000 after purchasing an additional 21,143,554 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Cemex by 451.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,897,356 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $151,907,000 after buying an additional 13,834,438 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its position in shares of Cemex by 90.2% during the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 26,300,519 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $182,263,000 after buying an additional 12,469,417 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Cemex by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 10,857,832 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $125,392,000 after buying an additional 3,766,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Cemex by 1,747.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 3,646,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,710,000 after buying an additional 3,448,600 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Cemex from $12.75 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cemex in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cemex from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cemex from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Santander upgraded Cemex to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.07.

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.