Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has decreased by 30.1% in August, with total short interest now at 601,700 shares.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.3625 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.45 and a dividend yield of 6.4%.
• Fomento Economico Mexicano recently reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of $0.42 against an expected $0.91.

Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 601,700 shares, a decline of 30.1% from the July 31st total of 861,300 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 793,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Based on an average daily volume of 793,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fomento Economico Mexicano

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 446.4% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,568 shares of the company's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 2,098 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 17.6% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,127 shares of the company's stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 62.0% in the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 23,878 shares of the company's stock worth $2,459,000 after buying an additional 9,140 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 439 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 16,917 shares of the company's stock worth $1,742,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FMX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price target on 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. Citigroup upgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $93.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $97.00 price objective (down from $132.00) on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.80.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Stock Performance

Shares of FMX stock traded up $3.65 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $90.42. 990,268 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,020,914. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Fomento Economico Mexicano has a 12-month low of $81.07 and a 12-month high of $108.74. The company has a market cap of $32.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.70.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.49). The company had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.71 billion. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 5.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fomento Economico Mexicano will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 17th were issued a $1.3625 dividend. This represents a $5.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. This is a boost from Fomento Economico Mexicano's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 17th. Fomento Economico Mexicano's payout ratio is presently 74.83%.

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.