Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) Upgraded to Buy at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup has upgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, raising the price target from $93.00 to $97.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.66% from its previous close.
• Other analysts have mixed ratings for FMX, with UBS Group setting a neutral rating and a target price of $115.00, while Zacks Research downgraded it to a "strong sell."
• Fomento Economico Mexicano reported missed earnings expectations with an EPS of $0.42 against a consensus of $0.91 and revenue of $11.27 billion compared to an estimated $216.71 billion.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $97.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $93.00. Citigroup's price target indicates a potential upside of 5.11% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on FMX. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (down from $132.00) on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.80.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of FMX traded up $1.90 on Tuesday, reaching $92.28. 1,176,838 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 994,600. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.10. Fomento Economico Mexicano has a 12 month low of $81.07 and a 12 month high of $108.74.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.71 billion. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 2.60%. Research analysts anticipate that Fomento Economico Mexicano will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fomento Economico Mexicano

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FMX. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the first quarter worth $330,437,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 309.6% during the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,714,895 shares of the company's stock worth $176,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296,194 shares in the last quarter. 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. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 105.4% during the first quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,112,036 shares of the company's stock worth $106,139,000 after acquiring an additional 570,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the fourth quarter worth $47,110,000. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

About Fomento Economico 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.