Wall Street Zen Upgrades Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) from a "buy" to a strong-buy, while overall analyst coverage is mixed (one Strong Buy, three Buy, four Hold) with a MarketBeat average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $113.17.
• The stock opened at $120 (near its 52‑week high of $120.65), has a $41.46 billion market cap, a P/E of 26.84 and PEG of 0.82; the company reported $2.43 EPS on $11.61 billion revenue for the quarter and is forecast to earn about 4.87 EPS this year.
• Insiders sold roughly 261,575 shares (~$2.8M) in the past 90 days and own 5.68% of the company, while institutional/hedge fund ownership is about 61%, with notable stake increases from Nuveen, Invesco and others.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fomento Economico Mexicano has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $113.17.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Stock Performance

NYSE:FMX opened at $120.00 on Friday. Fomento Economico Mexicano has a fifty-two week low of $83.08 and a fifty-two week high of $120.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.42.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a return on equity of 7.63% and a net margin of 3.40%.The business had revenue of $11.61 billion during the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that Fomento Economico Mexicano will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Garza Alfonso Garza sold 52,311 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $12,627,389.07. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 261,575 shares of company stock valued at $2,795,188. Insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fomento Economico Mexicano

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC increased its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 3,850,882 shares of the company's stock worth $389,209,000 after purchasing an additional 88,721 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,244,820 shares of the company's stock worth $125,814,000 after purchasing an additional 197,914 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd increased its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,144,880 shares of the company's stock worth $112,928,000 after purchasing an additional 222,064 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 758,186 shares of the company's stock worth $74,780,000 after purchasing an additional 132,440 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 11,692.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 716,029 shares of the company's stock worth $73,171,000 after purchasing an additional 709,957 shares during the period. 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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