Cemex (NYSE:CX) Shares Up 6.3% Following Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Shares jumped 6.3% after Cemex reported quarterly EPS of $0.16 versus the $0.12 consensus, briefly trading around $12.51 on the session.
• Cemex raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0225 (from $0.02), an annualized $0.09 with a 0.7% yield and a 13.64% payout ratio.
• Analyst views are mixed: Morgan Stanley upgraded to Overweight with a $14 target, while the MarketBeat consensus price target is $11.83 and the average rating is "Hold".

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6.3% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $12.51 and last traded at $12.5140. 2,029,904 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 6,666,157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.77.

The construction company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04. Cemex had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 5.93%.

Cemex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a $0.0225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Cemex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cemex's payout ratio is 13.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CX. Morgan Stanley raised Cemex from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. HSBC cut Cemex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $12.80 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Cemex from $13.90 to $14.10 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Cemex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Cemex in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cemex

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Cemex by 334.7% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,189 shares of the construction company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 7,075 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Cemex by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,187,143 shares of the construction company's stock worth $40,320,000 after acquiring an additional 2,661,030 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Cemex by 53.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 57,269 shares of the construction company's stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 19,878 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Cemex by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 50,480 shares of the construction company's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 18,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Cemex Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 1.60.

Cemex Company Profile

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.

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