Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola FEMSA

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KOF. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA by 490.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 478 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA by 56.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 545 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA during the first quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA by 49.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Stock Up 1.2 %

KOF stock traded up $1.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.87. 43,063 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 168,602. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.19. Coca-Cola FEMSA has a 12 month low of $69.33 and a 12 month high of $104.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $147.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.86.

Coca-Cola FEMSA (NYSE:KOF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.55. Coca-Cola FEMSA had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Coca-Cola FEMSA will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 14th will be paid a $0.7811 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 14th. This represents a yield of 2.6%. Coca-Cola FEMSA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola FEMSA from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola FEMSA from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.91.

About Coca-Cola FEMSA

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.