Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have assigned FMX a consensus rating of "Hold" from 8 firms (5 holds, 3 buys) with an average 1‑year price target of $110.67, and major banks including Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barclays have recently raised price targets (GS and UBS maintain "buy" ratings).
• FEMSA recently cut its dividend and declared a quarterly payout of $0.6658 ($2.66 annualized) for a yield of 2.3% and a high payout ratio of 80%, with an ex‑dividend date of April 22 and payment on May 4.
• Shares trade near $116.96 with a market cap of $40.4B and a P/E of 41.04; the company reported $1.36 EPS and $12.21B in revenue last quarter, analysts forecast $5.32 EPS for the year, and insiders have sold 261,575 shares in the past 90 days (insiders own 5.68%).

Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $110.6667.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FMX shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FMX opened at $116.96 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $111.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.04, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.40. Fomento Economico Mexicano has a one year low of $83.08 and a one year high of $118.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $12.21 billion for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 2.29% and a return on equity of 6.11%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fomento Economico Mexicano will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.6658 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Fomento Economico Mexicano's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.00%.

Insider Activity at Fomento Economico Mexicano

In related news, Director Garza Alfonso Garza sold 52,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.07, for a total transaction of $579,138.12. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,233,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,650,195.60. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 261,575 shares of company stock worth $2,795,188. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fomento Economico Mexicano

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 95.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 6,750 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 10,750.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 762 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during 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.

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