CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) Short Interest Update

CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,920,000 shares, an increase of 47.6% from the October 15th total of 6,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

CEMEX Price Performance

Shares of CX stock traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $5.47. 9,724,844 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,836,311. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.87 and a 200 day moving average of $6.44. The stock has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.73. CEMEX has a 12 month low of $5.00 and a 12 month high of $9.27.

CEMEX Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a Variable dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.021 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. CEMEX’s payout ratio is currently 13.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CEMEX

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CX. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in CEMEX in the third quarter valued at approximately $190,346,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CEMEX by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,057,965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,113,000 after acquiring an additional 4,217,562 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CEMEX by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC now owns 15,555,171 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $99,398,000 after acquiring an additional 3,796,262 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in CEMEX by 166.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,077,576 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $24,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,549,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in CEMEX by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 5,397,977 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,927,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090,688 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CX. Barclays cut their price target on CEMEX from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CEMEX from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $7.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on CEMEX from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of CEMEX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of CEMEX from $10.00 to $8.90 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.