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

Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,320,000 shares, an increase of 45.0% from the June 15th total of 1,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 721,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.50.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Stock Down 1.6 %

FMX traded down $1.88 on Monday, reaching $115.62. 773,974 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 696,527. The company has a market cap of $41.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $112.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.88. Fomento Económico Mexicano has a 52-week low of $99.24 and a 52-week high of $143.43.

Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter. Fomento Económico Mexicano had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The business had revenue of $10.76 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fomento Económico Mexicano will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.0206 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from Fomento Económico Mexicano’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 17th. Fomento Económico Mexicano’s payout ratio is currently 16.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fomento Económico Mexicano

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 78.2% in the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC increased its position in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 0.4% during the first quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 28,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,696,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter.

About Fomento Económico Mexicano

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.