Short Interest in Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Increases By 76.4%

Key Points

• Short interest in FMX surged 76.4% in May, rising to 1,256,450 shares, though that still equals only 0.4% of shares outstanding and a 2.6-day short-interest ratio.
• The stock traded higher on the day cited, up 1.6% to $119.58, near its 52-week high of $125.71 and above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $117.17, while recent reports included both target hikes and mixed rating changes.

Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,256,450 shares, a growth of 76.4% from the April 30th total of 712,161 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 483,545 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Trading Up 1.6%

FMX traded up $1.93 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $119.58. 793,583 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 487,710. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $116.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Fomento Economico Mexicano has a one year low of $83.08 and a one year high of $125.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.42.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $2.43 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 for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fomento Economico Mexicano will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FMX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.17.

Insider Transactions at Fomento Economico Mexicano

In other Fomento Economico Mexicano news, Director Garza Alfonso Garza sold 52,311 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.19, for a total value of $585,360.09. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,128,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,627,389.07. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 261,575 shares of company stock valued at $2,795,188. Insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summitry LLC boosted its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 3.3% in the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 6,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 9.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 613,753 shares of the company's stock worth $68,163,000 after buying an additional 54,786 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 41.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 3.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,218,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $690,649,000 after acquiring an additional 193,432 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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