Coca Cola Femsa S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) Short Interest Down 24.5% in April

Key Points

• Short interest fell 24.5% in April to 176,712 shares, cutting the short-interest ratio to about 1.2 days based on average daily volume.
• The board raised the quarterly dividend to $1.0873 (annualized $4.35), implying a 4.4% yield; the ex-dividend date was April 20 and the payment is May 1.
• Wall Street is broadly positive with an average "Moderate Buy" rating and an average target of $113.60, after recent target increases from firms including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Barclays.

Coca Cola Femsa S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 176,712 shares, a decrease of 24.5% from the March 31st total of 234,052 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 144,591 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Coca Cola Femsa

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Seafarer Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Coca Cola Femsa by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Seafarer Capital Partners LLC now owns 29,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,410,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Coca Cola Femsa by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 225,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,750,000 after purchasing an additional 14,687 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Coca Cola Femsa by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 189,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,760,000 after purchasing an additional 35,477 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca Cola Femsa in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,826,000. Finally, Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Coca Cola Femsa in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $706,000.

Coca Cola Femsa Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:KOF traded down $2.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.02. The stock had a trading volume of 306,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,272. Coca Cola Femsa has a one year low of $80.22 and a one year high of $116.36. The company has a market capitalization of $166.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $102.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.32.

Coca Cola Femsa (NYSE:KOF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter. Coca Cola Femsa had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business had revenue of $3.96 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Coca Cola Femsa will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca Cola Femsa Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be issued a $1.0873 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $4.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is an increase from Coca Cola Femsa's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Coca Cola Femsa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KOF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Coca Cola Femsa from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Coca Cola Femsa from $97.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Coca Cola Femsa from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Coca Cola Femsa in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Coca Cola Femsa from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coca Cola Femsa presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.60.

About Coca Cola Femsa

Coca‑Cola FEMSA NYSE: KOF is a large multinational beverage bottler and distributor operating primarily in Mexico and across multiple markets in Latin America. As a principal franchise bottler for The Coca‑Cola Company, the firm is responsible for producing, packaging, marketing and distributing Coca‑Cola branded beverages and a wide range of nonalcoholic drinks to retail and foodservice customers throughout its territories.

The company's product portfolio includes carbonated soft drinks, bottled water, juices, ready‑to‑drink teas and coffees, sports and energy drinks, and other noncarbonated beverages.

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