Cemex (CX) Competitors

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) and Cemex (NYSE:CX) are both large-cap construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership and risk.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, VMC or CX?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vulcan Materials	$7.42B	4.89	$911.90M	$7.05	38.94
Cemex	$16.20B	0.75	$939M	$1.02	8.22

Which has more risk & volatility, VMC or CX?

Vulcan Materials has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cemex has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is VMC or CX a better dividend stock?

Vulcan Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cemex pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Vulcan Materials pays out 27.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cemex pays out 7.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Vulcan Materials has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Cemex is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in VMC or CX?

90.4% of Vulcan Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Cemex shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Vulcan Materials shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Cemex shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer VMC or CX?

In the previous week, Vulcan Materials had 19 more articles in the media than Cemex. MarketBeat recorded 28 mentions for Vulcan Materials and 9 mentions for Cemex. Cemex's average media sentiment score of 0.91 beat Vulcan Materials' score of 0.58 indicating that Cemex is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Vulcan Materials	13 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cemex	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer VMC or CX?

Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus target price of $302.45, suggesting a potential upside of 10.16%. Cemex has a consensus target price of $7.91, suggesting a potential downside of 5.63%. Given Vulcan Materials' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Vulcan Materials is more favorable than Cemex.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vulcan Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Cemex	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Is VMC or CX more profitable?

Vulcan Materials has a net margin of 12.52% compared to Cemex's net margin of 9.61%. Vulcan Materials' return on equity of 12.81% beat Cemex's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vulcan Materials	12.52%	12.81%	6.41%
Cemex	9.61%	6.89%	3.18%

Summary

Vulcan Materials beats Cemex on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.