Cemex (NYSE:CX) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. shares reached a new 52-week high of $9.51, closing at $9.45, as trading volume surpassed 147,000 shares.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their ratings on Cemex, with Barclays increasing their price target from $9.00 to $10.00 and JPMorgan raising theirs from $8.10 to $10.50, indicating a generally positive outlook.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0224 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.9% and a relatively low payout ratio of 7.84%.

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $9.51 and last traded at $9.45, with a volume of 147132 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.40.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.0224 per share. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. Cemex's dividend payout ratio is 8.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cemex from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $8.10 to $10.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cemex in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Itau BBA Securities downgraded Cemex from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cemex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Cemex from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cemex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.02.

Cemex Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.04. 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 stock has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.43.

Cemex (NYSE:CX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The construction company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Cemex had a return on equity of 6.89% and a net margin of 9.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cemex

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CX. WealthCollab LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cemex by 73.7% in the 2nd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 3,724 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,580 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Cemex during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Cemex by 256.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cemex by 63.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Cemex during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

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.