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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of CEMEX from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of CEMEX from $10.00 to $8.90 and set a “sector outperform” 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 report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CEMEX from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $7.00 to $6.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of CEMEX from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.82.

CEMEX Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CX traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5.47. The stock had a trading volume of 9,724,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,836,311. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.87 and a 200-day moving average of $6.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 1.49. CEMEX has a 12-month low of $5.00 and a 12-month high of $9.27.

CEMEX Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CEMEX

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its stake in CEMEX by 41.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,249 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of CEMEX in the 3rd quarter worth about $9,037,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of CEMEX by 65.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 20,706 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 8,221 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of CEMEX by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 15,087 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 4,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of CEMEX by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 100,406 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 23,388 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.