Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. $CX Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd trimmed its stake in Cemex by 3.6% in Q4 and now owns 8,866,448 shares (~0.61% of Cemex) worth about $101.9 million, with Cemex representing roughly 1.5% of Perpetual's portfolio (its 22nd largest holding).
• Cemex missed Q4 EPS expectations, reporting ($0.19) versus a $0.19 consensus while beating revenue estimates with $4.18 billion, and analysts project about 0.69 EPS for the current year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.0225 per share (annualized $0.09, ~0.8% yield), while analyst coverage remains mixed with an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.38.

Perpetual Ltd lowered its position in Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,866,448 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 335,105 shares during the quarter. Cemex makes up approximately 1.5% of Perpetual Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Perpetual Ltd owned approximately 0.61% of Cemex worth $101,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WealthCollab LLC increased 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cemex by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 3,488 shares of the construction company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new position in Cemex during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in Cemex during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cemex Stock Up 0.0%

CX stock opened at $11.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.78 and a 200-day moving average of $11.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.83. Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. has a one year low of $4.89 and a one year high of $13.35.

Cemex (NYSE:CX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $4.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Cemex had a return on equity of 2.85% and a net margin of 5.93%. As a group, analysts expect that Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Cemex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Cemex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Cemex's payout ratio is presently 13.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CX. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Cemex from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Cemex in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. HSBC cut Cemex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $12.80 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank raised Cemex from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $13.50 to $13.90 in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Cemex in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.38.

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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