• New Purchases: AZN, GSK, NVO,

The stock of Cemex SAB de CV (NYSE:CX, 30-year Financials) is estimated to be possible value trap, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the

Charles Brandes' Brandes Investment sold shares of the following stocks during the fourth quarter, which ended on Dec. 31.

Cemex

The firm reduced its position in Cemex SAB de CV (CX) by 18.3%. The trade had an impact of -1.40% on the portfolio.

The ready-mix concrete company has a market cap of $9.99 billion and an enterprise value of $22.15 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10. The return on equity of -20.61% and return on assets of -6.18% are underperforming 93% of companies in

Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio)'s Brandes Investment has revealed a small boost in its long-term holding of Embraer SA (ERJ) according to GuruFocus' Real-Time Picks, a Premium feature.

Brandes, who is now retired, is a Benjamin Graham disciple. As such, his firm seeks to purchase out-of-favor securities that are trading at discounts to their intrinsic values, and then holds them until the market recognizes their true worth.

On Dec. 31, the firm purchased an additional 381,534 shares of the Brazillian aircraft and defense manufacturer. The purchase boosted the holding by 1.57%. On the day of

Brandes Investment Partners disclosed its third-quarter portfolio last week.

Following Benjamin Graham's value investing style, the San Diego-based investment firm, which was founded by the now-retired guru Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), takes positions in out-of-favor securities that have attractive total return potential and holds them until the market recognizes their true worth.

Keeping these criteria in mind, the firm entered eight new positions during the quarter, sold out of 25 investments and added to or trimmed a slew of other existing holdings. Among the most notable trades was a new stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB de

If you want to increase your chances of coming across bargains, one way is to pick stocks that are probably trading at a discount to their intrinsic value resulting from the projected free cash flow valuation model.

Unlike the discounted cash flow or discounted earnings valuation models, the projected FCF model can be applied to assess businesses whose history of revenue and earnings is erratic and may also include losses in some quarters. The projected FCF uses normalized free cash flow and book value.

The following stocks appear undervalued according to the projected FCF model and also hold positive recommendation

Investors who are seeking value opportunities may find the following stocks interesting, as they have low price-sales ratios, high profitability and robust financial conditions.

Kohl's Corp

The first company investors may be interested in is Kohl's Corp (KSS), a Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based apparel, beauty and home products department store operator in the U.S.

The stock traded at $19.65 per share at close on Aug. 4 for a price-sales ratio of 0.17, which appeals more than the industry median of 0.56.

Kohl's Corp has a GuruFocus profitability rating of 8 out of 10, driven by a three-year earnings per share

Brandes Investment Partners, the firm founded by Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), disclosed in a quarterly filing that its top five buys for the third quarter were Cemex SAB de CV (CX), Halliburton Co. (HAL), Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (TAK), Netgear Inc. (NTGR) and United Therapeutics Corp. (UTHR). Additionally, the firm disclosed this week it trimmed its holding of Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC (AVDL) according to GuruFocus Real-Time Picks, a Premium feature.

The firm follows investment teachings from Benjamin Graham: Brandes Investment Partners seeks out-of-favor companies that are trading at discounts to intrinsic value and holds them

When investors choose stocks with a market capitalization of more than $5 billion but are trading at less than 1.5 times book value, they most likely have discovered high-quality companies.

Moreover, GuruFocus has rated these stocks with a positive score of 6 out of 10 regarding their profitability, suggesting these businesses are profitable and will likely continue to be for the next several years.

Wall Street sell-side analysts have issued recommendation ratings ranging between overweight and moderate buy, which bolster expectations that these stocks will deliver positive returns. The overweight recommendation rating means the stock is expected to outperform either

Brandes Investment Partners, founded by Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), disclosed last week its top five position boosts in the first quarter were Flex Ltd. (FLEX), Embraer SA (ERJ), CVS Health Corp. (CVS), Copa Holdings SA (CPA) and Cemex SAB de CV (CX).

According to the firm’s website, Brandes Investments applies the value investing discipline pioneered by Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing. The firm seeks attractively priced securities around the globe, investing in companies that are trading at a discount to estimated fundamental value.

As of quarter-end, the 137-stock equity

If you’re building something, there is a strong chance you’re going to use concrete somewhere in the process, whether it is just for the foundation or the whole house, and regardless of whether you’re in Chicago or Mumbai.

Cemex SAB de CV (CX) is the largest ready-mix concrete company and one of the largest aggregate producers in the world, selling roughly 69 million tons of cement, 53 million cubic meters of ready-mix and over 150 million tons of aggregates in 2018. The majority of its revenue (75%) comes from Europe, the U.S. and domestically in Mexico.

Over the last

In 2014, Morningstar Inc. (MORN), which rates corporate moats, published a book explaining its methods and rationale. Members of the equity research team contributed to “Why Moats Matter: The Morningstar Approach to Stock Investing.”

Lead authors were Heather Brilliant, chartered financial analyst and co-CEO of Morningstar Australasia, and Elizabeth Collins, CFA and director of equity research for Morningstar North America. Other contributors were Joel Bloomer, Matthew Coffina, Stephen Ellis, Gareth James, Warren Miller, Josh Peters and Todd Wenning.

The authors wrote, “We’ve always viewed investing in the most fundamental sense: We want to hold shares in great businesses for long

Cemex SAB de CV (CX) is the largest ready-mix concrete company in the world. The company sells roughly 70 million tons of cement, 50 million cubic meters of ready-mix and 150 million tons of aggregates annually. The stock is off 39% since January, but the underlying fundamentals are sound and the shares are undervalued.

Concrete is making a comeback it seems. In a recent Instagram post, Floyd Mayweather shared photos of his brand new mansion, which is 100% concrete.

As for Cemex, the company generates 75% of its sales across Europe, Mexico and the United States, with 14% coming

Italian cement manufacturer Buzzi Unicem (BZZUF) (BZZUY) has been sold off with worries that Italy will quit the European Union. The company receives much of its profits from the U.S. and trades cheaply on a price-earnings basis. Buzzi looks interesting and the stock is down since January.

The stock trades for 20.75 euros ($24.16), there are 219.5 million shares and the market cap is 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion). Earnings per share were 1.77 euros last year and the price-earnings ratio is 11.7. The dividend is 0.12 euros and the dividend yield is 0.57%. The stock looks cheap on

Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua S.A. de C.V. (GCWOF) is one of the largest cement companies you have never heard of. Based in Mexico, the company gets three-quarters of its sales in the U.S. The company is very profitable and is a holding of guru Third Avenue.

The stock trades for 93.5 pesos ($5.27), there are 332.54 million shares and the market cap is 31 billion pesos. According to the Financial Times, earnings per share are 3.7 pesos, so the price-earnings (P/E) ratio is 25. The stock pays a 0.52 peso in dividends, so the yield is 0.55%. It takes

Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), chairman of Brandes Investment Partners, increased his stakes in many stocks in the fourth quarter.

He raised his stake in Credit Suisse Group AGÂ (CS) by 121.44%. The deal had an impact of 0.52% on the portfolio.

The company holds direct or indirect interests in all types of businesses in Switzerland and abroad, in particular in the areas of banking, finance, asset management and insurance. Third quarter net revenues decreased 8% year on year as lower net revenues in Investment Banking and Private Banking & Wealth Management were partially offset by higher

Our position in the convertible bonds of CEMEX (CX) declined 12% in the quarter and 21% since we bought the position in the third quarter. The price declined due to weak Latin American currencies, challenged trends in some emerging markets, and a general sell-off across the entire non-investment grade bond sector. We believe CEMEX’s assets are worth roughly twice the debt, which provides generous asset coverage. In addition, we receive a yield component and the opportunity of longer-term upside over par value through the convertible feature as EBITDA growth and debt reduction drive the underlying equity value higher.

From Longleaf

Market Overview

Emerging-market equities (as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index) ended the fourth quarter on a positive note. From a macro standpoint, lower commodity prices and the looming fear of the impact of rising U.S. interest rates were notable topics affecting stock prices throughout 2015, including in the fourth quarter.

In the midst of economic slowdown and ongoing reform efforts, it was not surprising that Chinese equity markets, as represented by the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite indices, remained volatile, recovering some lost ground in the fourth quarter following significant declines in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, political

Holdings in Mexico hurt returns in the fourth quarter, notably cement company Cemex (NYSE:CX). With the majority of Cemex’s debt denominated in U.S. dollars, concerns about the impact of rising U.S. interest rates have added to investor worries over intensifying competition in the company’s home market. Although leverage remains a key concern for Cemex, it is not, in our opinion, as big of a risk as it was a few years ago. We have been encouraged by the initiatives the company’s management has taken in terming out debt maturities, locking in lower interest rates, successfully negotiating with

Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio) increased his stake in many stocks during the third quarter, but significant increases of 15,902.7%, 2,244.54% and 1,208.49% were seen in Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK), Walmart Stores Inc. (WMT) and Cemex SAB de CV (CX).

Snow increased his stakes by more than 200% in Ultra Petroleum Corp. (UPL), Stone Energy Corp. (SGY), Devon Energy Corp. (DVN), Biogen Inc. (BIIB) and LB Foster Co. (FSTR).

Snow is founder of Snow Capital. He began his career investing the proceeds from the sale of the Snow Family