Coca Cola Femsa S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) Short Interest Up 25.4% in May

Coca Cola Femsa S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 183,900 shares, an increase of 25.4% from the May 15th total of 146,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 232,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

Coca Cola Femsa Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KOF traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $95.00. 303,959 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 198,278. Coca Cola Femsa has a 1-year low of $72.68 and a 1-year high of $101.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.60. The company's 50-day moving average price is $95.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.45.

Coca Cola Femsa (NYSE:KOF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.44 billion. Coca Cola Femsa had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 8.38%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Coca Cola Femsa will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca Cola Femsa Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a $0.8839 dividend. This is a boost from Coca Cola Femsa's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a yield of 3.1%. Coca Cola Femsa's dividend payout ratio is 13.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca Cola Femsa

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOF. Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in Coca Cola Femsa by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 5,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Coca Cola Femsa by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,902 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Coca Cola Femsa by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 28,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Coca Cola Femsa in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Coca Cola Femsa in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on KOF. Wall Street Zen lowered Coca Cola Femsa from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca Cola Femsa from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Coca Cola Femsa from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Coca Cola Femsa from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Coca Cola Femsa from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.50.

About Coca Cola Femsa

Coca-Cola FEMSA, SAB. de C.V., a franchise bottler, produces, markets, sells, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. The company offers sparkling beverages, including colas and flavored sparkling beverages; waters; other non-carbonated beverages comprising juice drinks, coffee, teas, milk, value-added dairy products, sports and energy drinks, and plant-based drinks; and alcoholic beverages, such as hard seltzer under the Topo Chico brand name.