Analyzing Cemex (NYSE:CX) & Knife River (NYSE:KNF)

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) and Cemex (NYSE:CX) are both materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Knife River and Cemex, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Knife River	0	4	6	0	2.60
Cemex	0	5	7	0	2.58

Knife River currently has a consensus price target of $89.71, suggesting a potential upside of 36.02%. Cemex has a consensus price target of $13.07, suggesting a potential upside of 22.43%. Given Knife River’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Knife River is more favorable than Cemex.

Risk & Volatility

Knife River has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cemex has a beta of 1.53, meaning that its share price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Knife River and Cemex”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Knife River	$3.15 billion	1.19	$157.07 million	$2.45	26.92
Cemex	$16.13 billion	0.96	$960.00 million	$0.34	31.39

Cemex has higher revenue and earnings than Knife River. Knife River is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cemex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

80.1% of Knife River shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Cemex shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Knife River shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Cemex shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Knife River and Cemex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Knife River	4.23%	8.73%	3.65%
Cemex	2.83%	3.82%	1.80%

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete. It also provides contracting service, such as heavy-civil construction, asphalt and concrete paving, and site development and grading. In addition, the company sells cement, merchandise, and other building materials and related services. The company sells its construction materials to public and private-sector customers, including federal, state, and municipal governments, as well as industrial, commercial and residential developers, and other private parties; and provides its contracting services to public-sector customers for the development and servicing of highways, local roads, bridges, and other public-infrastructure projects. Knife River Corporation was founded in 1917 and is based in Bismarck, North Dakota.

About Cemex

CEMEX, S.A.B. 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. It also provides crushed stone, sand, gravel, and recycled concrete products; performance materials, such as admixtures, mortars, special mortars, and asphalt; and waste management services comprising municipal and industrial, construction, demolition and excavation, and alternative raw materials. In addition, the company construction related services, including logistics and transportation, retail, pavement services, design and engineering, and others; and industrial construction products consist of precast components, 2D panels, 3D modules, and complete structures. CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico.