Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,836,513 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,127,293 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 2.54% of CEMEX worth $207,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CX. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of CEMEX by 159.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,986 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of CEMEX by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,249 shares of the construction company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CEMEX during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of CEMEX during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CEMEX during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CEMEX Price Performance

CX stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.86. 9,883,043 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,296,761. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.41. CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. has a 52-week low of $4.89 and a 52-week high of $7.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.84.

CEMEX (NYSE:CX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The construction company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $186.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.59 million. CEMEX had a return on equity of 7.78% and a net margin of 5.70%. As a group, analysts anticipate that CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

CEMEX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. CEMEX's payout ratio is presently 8.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded CEMEX from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CEMEX from $6.00 to $6.80 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on CEMEX from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bradesco Corretora set a $7.50 price objective on CEMEX and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut CEMEX from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CEMEX has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.58.

CEMEX Company Profile

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.