Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Fomento Económico Mexicano shares reached a new 52-week high of $124.24 (last at $122.31) and were trading up about 0.8%, giving the company a market cap near $42.3 billion.
• Analysts are mixed but generally positive — MarketBeat shows an average rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $114.33, while several firms have raised targets (Barclays $125, UBS $122) and Zacks upgraded to a strong-buy.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.43 on $11.61 billion in revenue; it paid a quarterly dividend of $0.6658 (annualized $2.66, yield 2.2%, payout ratio ~53%), and insiders have sold about 261,575 shares in the last 90 days while owning 5.68% of the stock.

Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $124.24 and last traded at $122.3110, with a volume of 593844 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $121.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research raised Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Fomento Economico Mexicano currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.33.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.42. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $111.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.19.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The company had revenue of $11.61 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.6658 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fomento Economico Mexicano's payout ratio is 53.47%.

Insider Activity at Fomento Economico Mexicano

In other news, Director Garza Alfonso Garza sold 52,311 shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.19, for a total transaction of $585,360.09. Following the sale, the director owned 1,128,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,627,389.07. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 261,575 shares of company stock worth $2,795,188 in the last 90 days. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fomento Economico Mexicano

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 2,006.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 337 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake 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 shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the third quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company's stock.

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.

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