Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Cemex (NYSE:CX)

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 155,129 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 13,714% compared to the average volume of 1,123 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cemex in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Cemex from $7.00 to $8.25 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank cut Cemex from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $11.10 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Cemex from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Cemex from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cemex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.14.

Cemex Stock Up 1.3%

Cemex stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.52. The stock had a trading volume of 8,794,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,221,181. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.63. Cemex has a one year low of $4.89 and a one year high of $12.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.59.

Cemex (NYSE:CX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $226.73 million. Cemex had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 6.85%. On average, analysts expect that Cemex will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cemex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.0224 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cemex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cemex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Cemex by 334.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,189 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 7,075 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cemex by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,187,143 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,661,030 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cemex by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,210 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cemex by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 33,213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Cemex during the second quarter valued at $109,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

About Cemex

Cemex (NYSE: CX) is a global building materials company headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. The company produces, distributes and sells cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates, as well as related building materials, to construction markets in more than 50 countries. Cemex’s product portfolio also includes asphalt and mortar mixes, waste-derived fuels and other complementary construction solutions, supported by a network of production facilities, distribution centers and logistics operations.

Founded in 1906 as Cementos Hidalgo, the company adopted the Cemex name in 1976 following a series of domestic mergers and expansions.