Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. $CX Position Reduced by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Key Points

• Brandes Investment Partners LP cut its Cemex stake by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 12.05 million shares and ending with 12.85 million shares valued at about $147.7 million.
• Cemex reported Q1 earnings of $0.16 per share, and analysts now expect the company to earn 0.91 EPS for the full year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0312 per share from $0.02, bringing the annualized yield to about 1.0%.

Brandes Investment Partners LP decreased its position in shares of Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX - Free Report) by 48.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,852,316 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 12,050,569 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.89% of Cemex worth $147,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cemex by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,802 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cemex by 0.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 319,835 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,875,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Cemex by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 28,609 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Cemex by 3.3% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 43,093 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lesa Sroufe & Co increased its holdings in shares of Cemex by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 376,017 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,320,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Cemex Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE CX opened at $12.07 on Wednesday. Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. has a twelve month low of $6.63 and a twelve month high of $13.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.70 and a beta of 1.51. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $12.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.93.

Cemex (NYSE:CX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The construction company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter. Cemex had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 3.64%. Equities analysts anticipate that Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

Cemex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.0312 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Cemex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Cemex's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.13%.

Insider Activity at Cemex

In other news, insider Herrera Jesus Vicente Gonzalez sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.16, for a total transaction of $425,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 846,010 shares in the company, valued at $10,287,481.60. The trade was a 3.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CX. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Cemex in a report on Thursday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cemex from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Cemex from $13.90 to $14.10 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $12.75 price objective on shares of Cemex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cemex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cemex has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.77.

About Cemex

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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