Skip to main content
LOMALoma Negra Compania Industrial Sell5.3·$11.38-0.57%
LOMA · Why this verdict

Why Loma Negra Compania Industrial (LOMA) is rated SELL

Updated

Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Show full disclosure ▾

About TrendMatrix. TrendMatrix is a publisher of general securities research and market commentary. We publish on a regular schedule. All content is the same for every subscriber in a tier — we do not provide personalized investment advice and we do not take into account any individual subscriber's financial situation, investment objectives, risk tolerance, tax situation, or holdings.

Not investment advice. TrendMatrix is not a registered investment adviser. Our content is for informational and educational purposes only. Consult your own licensed investment adviser, broker, or tax professional before making any investment decision.

Conflicts and positions. The TrendMatrix editorial team frequently holds personal long-term positions in securities discussed. We disclose positions held at the time of publication on each piece. We maintain a trading-window policy: we do not initiate or close positions in the same direction as a TrendMatrix publication within 24 hours before or 72 hours after publication.

No paid promotion. TrendMatrix does not accept payment from any issuer, broker, or third party in exchange for coverage of any security. Our sole compensation is subscription revenue.

No fiduciary duty. No fiduciary, advisory, or agency relationship is created between you and TrendMatrix by reading our content or subscribing to our service.

Performance. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance figures reflect the published model only and do not reflect any individual subscriber's actual results.

Methodology · Editorial policy & full disclaimer

VerdictSELL
Overall score5.3/10
ConfidenceMEDIUM
MacroNEUTRAL
TrendMatrix Research · core thesis

Engine thesis — one sentence

This building materials company offers an optically attractive forward valuation, but the investment case is undermined by free cash flow that is deeply negative relative to reported net income, two consecutive significant earnings misses, and a quality profile that falls below the minimum threshold — factors that together support exiting the position.

Falsifiable statement — pillar-level invalidators below. Engine-derived; not personalized advice.

Thesis pillars

At a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 15.0 times and a price-to-earnings-to-growth ratio of 0.34, the stock screens as attractively priced on paper — a discount that could reward investors if the underlying cash generation profile improves.

Stable
Valuation breakdown
Expectation
Free cash flow turns positive for 2 consecutive quarters, converting the forward valuation discount into one supported by real cash generation.

CounterThe apparent cheapness may be misleading because reported earnings are not converting into cash — free cash flow is deeply negative relative to net income — meaning the business looks better on an earnings multiple basis than on the cash it actually generates.

Free cash flow is deeply negative, running at approximately negative 238% of net income — meaning the business is consuming far more cash than it reports in earnings, which is a significant red flag for earnings quality and financial sustainability.

Stable
Quality breakdown
Expectation
Free cash flow turns positive and cash conversion of net income rises above 50% for 2 consecutive quarters.

CounterThe Piotroski financial health score is 8 out of 9, suggesting that balance sheet health indicators outside of cash conversion remain broadly positive — the negative free cash flow may reflect a temporary investment or working capital cycle rather than structural impairment.

The two most recent reported quarters both missed analyst consensus significantly — the most recent by roughly 83% and the quarter before by approximately 139% — reflecting a pattern of poor delivery against expectations.

Stable
Earnings
Expectation
The company beats or meets consensus EPS estimates in each of the next 2 reported quarters, ending the miss streak.

CounterEarnings variability has been high historically, with large positive surprises recorded in earlier periods — suggesting the business can swing sharply in both directions and a recovery beat in the near term is within the range of historical outcomes.

The overall quality assessment at 3.6 falls below the 4.0 minimum threshold required to justify holding a position, and the business carries no identifiable competitive moat — a combination that makes durable return generation through a downturn unlikely.

Stable
Warnings
Expectation
Quality score rises above 4.0 through improvement in cash conversion and returns over the next 2 assessment periods.

CounterMomentum and macro-cycle gate checks are passing, and the stock has recently set up above all moving averages in a technical breakout pattern — if macro conditions improve, operating leverage in a building materials business could lift quality metrics faster than the current assessment suggests.

Per-dimension breakdown

Value

7.8/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
P/E2.3
P/S10.0
EV/EBITDA10.0
Fwd P/E8.3
PEG10.0
Analyst target6.0
  • Forward P/E: 14.0x
  • PEG: 0.32
  • Attractively valued

Quality

3.6/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
ROE1.1
ROA2.0
Gross margin0.3
Op margin5.6
Net margin2.1
Current ratio7.0
FCF quality0.0
Moat5.2
Piotroski F8.9
  • Earnings quality RED FLAG: -238% FCF/NI
  • No competitive moat
  • Strong Piotroski F-Score: 8/9

Growth

6.4/10data confidence 67%
ComponentSub-score
Rev growth2.8
EPS growth10.0

Momentum

3.0/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
RSI5.5
MACD2.7
OBV1.0
MA position6.0
Volume0.0
  • Volume distribution (falling OBV)
  • Above 200-day MA

Sentiment

6.1/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
Analyst rating5.0
Price target8.5
erm sentiment5.0
  • Analyst upside: 29%

Insider

5.0/10data confidence 50%

Peer rank

3.0/10data confidence 80%
ComponentSub-score
value rank5.0
quality rank1.2
growth rank0.8

Technical

7.0/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
bollinger7.2
support resistance7.6
52w position6.1

Risk (lower is worse)

5.3/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
short interest8.6
days to cover7.0
volatility0.0
put call3.3
implied vol0.0
beta8.9
debt equity9.0
  • High IV: 92%

Catalyst

5.3/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
erm5.0
earnings history1.1
earnings timing5.0
surprise avg10.0
  • Earnings concerns: 1B/2M

How the verdict was assembled

Engine trigger

Quality below minimum threshold.

Engine technical detail
verdict_path: L1:HARD_BLOCK
Passed (6)
  • INSIDER:OK
  • 8K:CLEAN
  • NEWS_EVENTS:NONE_RECENT
  • EARNINGS_PROXIMITY:42d clear
  • SEMI_CYCLE_PEAK:CLEAR
  • MATERIALS_CYCLE_PEAK:CLEAR
Failed (2)
  • MOMENTUM:3.0<4.5
  • ASYMMETRY:1.2<1.5@spot
Warning (0)

none

Reward-to-Risk
1.20
Upside
+12.3%
Downside
10.2%
Sizing output
AVOID

SetupUNKNOWN No clear chart pattern; technical signals are mixed

EdgeNO_EDGE No clear edge identified

SuitabilityAGGRESSIVE MCap $1.3B<$5B

Investment implication

The L1 gate blocked the positive-verdict path: a hard-floor threshold was breached, so dimensional pillars — including Value at 7.8 could not lift the engine output above the verdict floor. Failed gate signal: MOMENTUM:3.0<4.5.

The strongest dimensions are Value at 7.8, Technical at 7.0, and Growth at 6.4; the weakest are Peer rank at 3.0, Momentum at 3.0, and Quality at 3.6. The V9 engine flagged 2 failed gates, producing an asymmetric reward-to-risk of 1.20 and an engine sizing output of AVOID.

What would invalidate the thesis

Falsifying conditions — when triggered, the corresponding pillar's thesis is invalidated.

  • P1At a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 15.0 times and a price-to-earnings-to-growth ratio of 0.34, the stock screens as attractively priced on paper — a discount that could reward investors if the underlying cash generation profile improves.

    Trip ifForward P/E expands above 22x due to downward earnings estimate revisions.

  • P2Free cash flow is deeply negative, running at approximately negative 238% of net income — meaning the business is consuming far more cash than it reports in earnings, which is a significant red flag for earnings quality and financial sustainability.

    Trip ifFree cash flow rises above $0 for 2 consecutive quarters, indicating the approximately negative 238%-of-net-income cash drain has stabilized and the earnings-quality concern has resolved.

  • P3The two most recent reported quarters both missed analyst consensus significantly — the most recent by roughly 83% and the quarter before by approximately 139% — reflecting a pattern of poor delivery against expectations.

    Trip ifEPS surprise exceeds 5% for each of the next 2 consecutive reported quarters.

  • P4The overall quality assessment at 3.6 falls below the 4.0 minimum threshold required to justify holding a position, and the business carries no identifiable competitive moat — a combination that makes durable return generation through a downturn unlikely.

    Trip ifQuality score rises above 4.0 in 2 consecutive assessment periods.

Engine reasoning is mechanically derived from pipeline gate outputs. See decision view.

Home Stocks LOMA Why this verdict