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

Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 602,100 shares, a drop of 23.6% from the February 28th total of 787,800 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 491,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FMX. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Fomento Económico Mexicano by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 491,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,524,000 after purchasing an additional 24,537 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 333.7% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 5,145 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 2.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,994,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,807,000. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FMX shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Fomento Económico Mexicano from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Barclays increased their target price on Fomento Económico Mexicano from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $109.00 to $97.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.95.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of FMX stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $99.61. The company had a trading volume of 130,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 625,096. The company has a market cap of $35.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.24. Fomento Económico Mexicano has a 12 month low of $81.08 and a 12 month high of $130.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last posted 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). Fomento Económico Mexicano had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 3.22%. The firm had revenue of $9.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.67 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Fomento Económico Mexicano will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.9201 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This is a boost from Fomento Económico Mexicano’s previous dividend of $0.74. Fomento Económico Mexicano’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.03%.

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.