Zacks Research Downgrades Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) to Hold

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FMX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $117.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America upgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $125.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.12.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Stock Performance

NYSE FMX opened at $124.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $42.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Fomento Economico Mexicano has a twelve month low of $83.08 and a twelve month high of $141.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.56.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 3.60%.The company had revenue of $13.20 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fomento Economico Mexicano will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fomento Economico Mexicano

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 11,692.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 716,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,171,000 after acquiring an additional 709,957 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,046,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,256,000 after acquiring an additional 423,073 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Fomento Economico Mexicano in the 4th quarter worth $41,408,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 253.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 567,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,379,000 after purchasing an additional 407,140 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,218,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,649,000 after purchasing an additional 193,432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

About Fomento Economico Mexicano

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.