Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 534,406 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 37% from the previous session’s volume of 390,047 shares.The stock last traded at $104.1550 and had previously closed at $103.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FMX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group raised Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $115.00 to $111.00 in a report on Friday, September 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.63.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.38 and its 200-day moving average is $95.63. The firm has a market cap of $36.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.60 billion. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a return on equity of 5.01% and a net margin of 2.09%. Equities research analysts predict that Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 26th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a $2.0531 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This is a positive change from Fomento Economico Mexicano’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. This represents a $8.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.9%. Fomento Economico Mexicano’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 43.3% during the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 137,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,516,000 after buying an additional 41,400 shares during the last quarter. INCA Investments LLC lifted its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. INCA Investments LLC now owns 274,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,296,000 after acquiring an additional 141,419 shares in the last quarter. Barings LLC boosted its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barings LLC now owns 72,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,478,000 after purchasing an additional 17,488 shares during the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC boosted its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 90,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,901,000 after purchasing an additional 24,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 79.8% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 143,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,189,000 after purchasing an additional 63,865 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by 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.