Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 787,800 shares, a drop of 23.5% from the February 13th total of 1,030,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 508,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of FMX traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, reaching $99.53. The stock had a trading volume of 15,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,408. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.50. Fomento Económico Mexicano has a 12-month low of $81.08 and a 12-month high of $131.56.

Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($1.05). The company had revenue of $9.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.67 billion. Fomento Económico Mexicano had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 8.37%. Sell-side analysts predict that Fomento Económico Mexicano will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.9201 dividend. This is a positive change from Fomento Económico Mexicano’s previous dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Fomento Económico Mexicano’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.03%.

Institutional Trading of Fomento Económico Mexicano

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FMX. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 179.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Fomento Económico Mexicano from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Fomento Económico Mexicano from $109.00 to $97.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Fomento Económico Mexicano from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.95.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Company Profile

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, operates as a bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. The company produces, markets, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.