Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Short Interest Up 76.4% in May

Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,256,450 shares, a growth of 76.4% from the April 30th total of 712,161 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 483,545 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FMX. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” 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 company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.17.

Insider Activity

In other Fomento Economico Mexicano news, Director Garza Alfonso Garza sold 52,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.07, for a total transaction of $579,138.12. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,233,080 shares in the company, valued at $13,650,195.60. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 261,575 shares of company stock worth $2,795,188. Corporate insiders own 5.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fomento Economico Mexicano

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Fomento Economico Mexicano in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 2,006.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 42.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 220.8% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Price Performance

Fomento Economico Mexicano stock opened at $122.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fomento Economico Mexicano has a 52 week low of $83.08 and a 52 week high of $125.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $117.12 and a 200-day moving average of $108.93.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 3.40%.The company had revenue of $11.61 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fomento Economico Mexicano will post 5.77 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.6658 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fomento Economico Mexicano’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.47%.

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.