Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 2,699,789 Shares of Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. $CX

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital reduced its Cemex stake by 55%, selling 2,699,789 shares during the first quarter and retaining 2,207,405 shares valued at approximately $25.3 million.
• Despite Arrowstreet’s reduction, other institutional investors increased their positions, and institutional ownership of Cemex stands at 82.97%.
• Cemex reported quarterly EPS of $0.24 on $4.59 billion in revenue, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0312 per share, and received a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $13.07 price target.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its stake in shares of Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX - Free Report) by 55.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,207,405 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,699,789 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.15% of Cemex worth $25,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CX. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Cemex by 7.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 4,150,537 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,482,000 after buying an additional 287,350 shares during the period. Militia Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cemex during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,086,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Cemex by 53.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 27,919 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 9,669 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its holdings in Cemex by 149.0% in the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 39,601 shares of the construction company's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 23,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cemex by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 53,389 shares of the construction company's stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 3,704 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Cemex Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of CX opened at $11.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. has a 1 year low of $8.17 and a 1 year high of $13.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.23.

Cemex (NYSE:CX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The construction company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.59 billion for the quarter. Cemex had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 3.82%. On average, equities analysts expect that Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cemex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This is a positive change from Cemex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Cemex's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cemex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Cemex from $14.10 to $14.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Cemex from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Cemex in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Cemex from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cemex currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.07.

Cemex 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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