Short Interest in Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) Expands By 38.7%

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 545,300 shares, a growth of 38.7% from the July 15th total of 393,200 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 176,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola FEMSA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA in the second quarter worth about $7,708,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA by 13.9% in the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 508,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,025,000 after purchasing an additional 62,282 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Coca-Cola FEMSA in the second quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Coca-Cola FEMSA by 7.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 167,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,359,000 after purchasing an additional 11,920 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Coca-Cola FEMSA by 3.2% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,276 shares of the company's stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Stock Up 1.3 %

KOF traded up $1.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $90.76. 101,593 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,805. The stock has a market cap of $152.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $86.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.22. Coca-Cola FEMSA has a fifty-two week low of $69.33 and a fifty-two week high of $104.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Coca-Cola FEMSA (NYSE:KOF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Coca-Cola FEMSA had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Coca-Cola FEMSA will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.8325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.7%. Coca-Cola FEMSA's payout ratio is presently 13.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on KOF. UBS Group dropped their target price on Coca-Cola FEMSA from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised Coca-Cola FEMSA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.91.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Company Profile

Coca-Cola FEMSA, SAB. de C.V., a franchise bottler, produces, markets, sells, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages. The company offers sparkling beverages, including colas and flavored sparkling beverages; and waters and other beverages, such as juice drinks, coffee, teas, milk, value-added dairy products, sports and energy drinks, alcoholic beverages, and plant-based drinks.