Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $114.3333.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Stock Performance

FMX stock opened at $121.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.43. Fomento Economico Mexicano has a fifty-two week low of $83.08 and a fifty-two week high of $125.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $11.61 billion during the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 7.33%. Sell-side analysts predict that Fomento Economico Mexicano will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.6658 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Fomento Economico Mexicano’s dividend payout ratio is 53.47%.

Insider Activity at Fomento Economico Mexicano

In other news, Director Garza Alfonso Garza sold 52,311 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.19, for a total transaction of $585,360.09. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,128,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,627,389.07. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 261,575 shares of company stock worth $2,795,188. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fomento Economico Mexicano

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FMX. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 8.5% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 319,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,493,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA lifted its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 22.1% in the third quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 518,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,143,000 after purchasing an additional 93,997 shares in the last quarter. Fundamenta Capital S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in the fourth quarter valued at $13,527,000. INCA Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 34.6% in the third quarter. INCA Investments LLC now owns 369,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,466,000 after purchasing an additional 94,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northcape Capital Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd now owns 448,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,279,000 after purchasing an additional 58,920 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Company Profile

Fomento Económico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V. (FEMSA) is a Mexican multinational company active primarily in the retail and beverage sectors. Headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, FEMSA’s operations span convenience store retailing, beverage bottling and distribution, and related logistics and consumer services. The company’s business model combines high-frequency retail outlets with large-scale beverage production and a regional supply chain network.

FEMSA Comercio, the company’s retail arm, operates a large chain of convenience stores under the OXXO brand and has expanded its retail footprint with complementary formats and services.