Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Short Interest Up 20.7% in July

Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,910,000 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the July 15th total of 3,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 679,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fomento Económico Mexicano currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fomento Económico Mexicano

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 9.0% during the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,183,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,979,000 after purchasing an additional 344,815 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,583,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,781,000 after purchasing an additional 94,199 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 945,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,169,000 after buying an additional 153,771 shares during the last quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 15.5% in the second quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 906,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,617,000 after buying an additional 121,800 shares during the period. Finally, LA Financiere DE L Echiquier lifted its stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 22.1% in the second quarter. LA Financiere DE L Echiquier now owns 776,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,562,000 after buying an additional 140,309 shares during the last quarter.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Price Performance

Shares of FMX opened at $113.00 on Friday. Fomento Económico Mexicano has a 52 week low of $99.24 and a 52 week high of $143.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $40.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $110.46 and a 200-day moving average of $119.60.

Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Fomento Económico Mexicano had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 3.75%. The firm had revenue of $11.54 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that Fomento Económico Mexicano will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 17th were issued a $1.0206 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 17th. This is a positive change from Fomento Económico Mexicano’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.74. This represents a dividend yield of 1.5%. Fomento Económico Mexicano’s payout ratio is 14.36%.

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.