Cemex (NYSE:CX) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Cemex has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $9.02, following various ratings adjustments from other analysts.
• Cemex’s stock opened at $9.06 with a market cap of $13.13 billion, reflecting its position within the construction materials industry amid varied institutional trading activities.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cemex (NYSE:CX - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cemex from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $8.10 to $10.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Cemex from $8.60 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Itau BBA Securities cut shares of Cemex from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cemex from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cemex in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.02.

Cemex Stock Performance

Shares of CX traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.06. The stock had a trading volume of 14,325,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,519,966. The firm has a market cap of $13.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.16. Cemex has a one year low of $4.89 and a one year high of $9.61.

Cemex (NYSE:CX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The construction company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Cemex had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 6.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cemex will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Cemex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.0224 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. Cemex's payout ratio is presently 8.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cemex

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WealthCollab LLC grew its holdings in Cemex by 73.7% during the 2nd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 3,724 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cemex in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Cemex by 256.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,298 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,093 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cemex by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,210 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Cemex in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cemex

CEMEX, SAB. de C.V., together with its subsidiaries, produces, markets, distributes, and sells cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates, urbanization solutions, and other construction materials and services worldwide. The company offers gray ordinary portland, white portland, oil-well, and blended cement products; mortar; and standard ready-mix, architectural and decorative, rapid-setting, fiber-reinforced, fluid-fill, roller-compacted, self-consolidating, pervious, and antibacterial, and other concrete products.