Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $119.50.

Several analysts have commented on FMX shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE FMX opened at $126.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $125.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.11. The company has a market cap of $43.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.41. Fomento Economico Mexicano has a 52-week low of $83.08 and a 52-week high of $134.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE:FMX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $11.61 billion for the quarter. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 7.33%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fomento Economico Mexicano will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fomento Economico Mexicano Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $1.827 dividend. This is a positive change from Fomento Economico Mexicano’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $7.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. Fomento Economico Mexicano’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fomento Economico Mexicano

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 2,006.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 220.8% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

About Fomento Economico Mexicano

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.