CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,930,000 shares, a decline of 17.1% from the February 28th total of 21,640,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 10,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

CEMEX Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CX traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.69. The stock had a trading volume of 11,585,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,325,650. The business’s fifty day moving average is $6.17 and its 200 day moving average is $5.89. CEMEX has a 52-week low of $5.00 and a 52-week high of $9.27. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 1.45.

CEMEX (NYSE:CX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The construction company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.06. CEMEX had a return on equity of 7.78% and a net margin of 5.70%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CEMEX will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CEMEX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. CEMEX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of CEMEX by 159.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,986 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in CEMEX by 41.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,249 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in CEMEX during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of CEMEX during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of CEMEX in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered CEMEX from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of CEMEX from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CEMEX from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CEMEX presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.82.

About CEMEX

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.