Short Interest in CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) Increases By 46.2%

CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,610,000 shares, a growth of 46.2% from the May 31st total of 7,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CX shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of CEMEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CEMEX from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of CEMEX from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of CEMEX in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CEMEX

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of CEMEX during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of CEMEX by 75.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,514 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of CEMEX by 65.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CEMEX by 40.6% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,501 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 2,454 shares during the period. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CEMEX in the first quarter valued at approximately $91,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CEMEX Price Performance

NYSE CX traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $6.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,173,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,308,421. The firm has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 45.64 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.83. CEMEX has a 52 week low of $5.67 and a 52 week high of $9.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

CEMEX (NYSE:CX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The construction company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter. CEMEX had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 1.82%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that CEMEX will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

CEMEX Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a Variable dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a $0.349 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. CEMEX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.29%.

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.