Cemex (NYSE:CX) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $7.94 and last traded at $7.92, with a volume of 15329541 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bradesco Corretora set a $7.50 target price on shares of Cemex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Cemex from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cemex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Cemex from $6.00 to $6.80 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Cemex from $5.00 to $5.25 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.74.

Cemex Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50-day moving average is $7.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Cemex (NYSE:CX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The construction company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Cemex had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 7.01%. Equities analysts predict that Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Cemex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.0224 per share. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Cemex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cemex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CX. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in Cemex by 7,200.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 49,622,009 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $279,868,000 after purchasing an additional 48,942,309 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Cemex by 745.6% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 26,739,107 shares of the construction company's stock worth $150,809,000 after buying an additional 23,576,914 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Cemex by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 40,745,819 shares of the construction company's stock worth $229,806,000 after buying an additional 9,541,622 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its stake in shares of Cemex by 115.6% in the first quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 13,831,102 shares of the construction company's stock worth $77,592,000 after buying an additional 7,416,743 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Cemex in the first quarter valued at $27,123,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cemex Company Profile

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.