Short Interest in Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Decreases By 24.3%

Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,860,000 shares, a drop of 24.3% from the September 15th total of 3,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 687,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fomento Económico Mexicano

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 78.2% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 221 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Fomento Económico Mexicano in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in Fomento Económico Mexicano during the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 956 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano during the second quarter valued at approximately $163,000.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Price Performance

Shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, hitting $98.58. 268,417 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 687,527. Fomento Económico Mexicano has a 52 week low of $97.58 and a 52 week high of $143.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.94.

Fomento Económico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $11.54 billion during the quarter. Fomento Económico Mexicano had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 3.75%. Research analysts expect that Fomento Económico Mexicano will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Económico Mexicano Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.864 per share. This represents a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 16th. Fomento Económico Mexicano's payout ratio is 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Fomento Económico Mexicano from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Fomento Económico Mexicano from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $104.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Fomento Económico Mexicano from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Fomento Económico Mexicano currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.40.

About Fomento Económico 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.

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