Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Could you tell me your thoughts on Cemex, the concrete, etc., company listed on the NYSE? I am thinking of purchasing it. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (ADRs), $4.74, symbol CX on New York (ADRs outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $4.7 billion; www.cemex.com), is the largest cement maker in North America and the world’s third largest cement maker, 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. The Mexico-based company makes and sells cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates (sand and gravel) and clinker (powdered cement). It gets 34% of its sales from Europe, followed by Mexico (24%), the U.S. (18%), South America, Central America and the Caribbean (10%), Africa and the Middle East (7%), Asia (4%) and others (3%). In August 2011, Cemex paid $352 million for full control of two joint ventures it had with Ready Mix USA. These businesses operate cement and concrete plants, storage terminals and sand and gravel pits in the southeastern U.S. The company also assumed $28 million of debt. In the three months…