Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Cemex seems to be recovering. What do you think of this stock? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (ADRs), $7.93, symbol CX on New York (ADRs outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $8.7 billion; www.cemex.com), is the largest cement maker in North America and the world’s third-biggest, after Lafarge of France and Switzerland’s Holcim. The stock is down from a 2007 peak of $37, and from $10.50 at the start of 2011. However, it’s up from its low of $2.18 in October 2011. The Mexico-based company makes and sells cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates (sand and gravel) and clinker (powdered cement). It gets 43% of its sales from Europe, followed by Mexico (22%), the U.S. (17%), South America, Central America and the Caribbean (11%), Asia (3%) and others (4%). In the three months ended June 30, 2012, Cemex’s sales fell 7.2%, to $3.9 billion from $4.2 billion a year earlier (all amounts in U.S. dollars). If you adjust for foreign exchange rates and businesses that Cemex has sold in the past year, its sales would have risen by…