Short Interest in Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) Expands By 16.1%

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 353,500 shares, an increase of 16.1% from the August 15th total of 304,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 149,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on KOF shares. Scotiabank cut shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Coca-Cola FEMSA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 2nd. HSBC upgraded Coca-Cola FEMSA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Coca-Cola FEMSA from $91.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola FEMSA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new position in Coca-Cola FEMSA in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA during the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA during the 4th quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Coca-Cola FEMSA by 16.4% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Price Performance

KOF traded up $1.18 on Tuesday, hitting $80.93. 50,945 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 169,591. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.47. Coca-Cola FEMSA has a 12 month low of $55.84 and a 12 month high of $91.23.

Coca-Cola FEMSA (NYSE:KOF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.03). Coca-Cola FEMSA had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.43 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Coca-Cola FEMSA will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 1st will be given a $1.6528 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola FEMSA’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 3.2%. Coca-Cola FEMSA’s payout ratio is presently 28.54%.

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.