Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) Short Interest Up 18.9% in September

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 741,000 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the September 15th total of 623,300 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 189,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KOF. Barclays boosted their price objective on Coca-Cola FEMSA from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.91.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola FEMSA

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA by 13.9% during the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 508,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,025,000 after acquiring an additional 62,282 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA during the 1st quarter worth about $3,346,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA during the 1st quarter worth about $4,217,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,708,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Coca-Cola FEMSA during the second quarter worth about $2,515,000.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KOF traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $86.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 87,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,105. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.86. Coca-Cola FEMSA has a 1-year low of $69.33 and a 1-year high of $104.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Coca-Cola FEMSA (NYSE:KOF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.55. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola FEMSA will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 14th will be given a dividend of $0.7811 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. Coca-Cola FEMSA’s payout ratio is 12.32%.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Company Profile

Coca-Cola FEMSA, SAB. de C.V., a franchise bottler, produces, markets, sells, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. The company offers sparkling beverages, including colas and flavored sparkling beverages; waters; other non-carbonated beverages comprising juice drinks, coffee, teas, milk, value-added dairy products, sports and energy drinks, and plant-based drinks; and alcoholic beverages, such as hard seltzer under the Topo Chico brand name.