Short Interest in Coca Cola Femsa S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) Expands By 30.9%

Coca Cola Femsa S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 561,734 shares, a growth of 30.9% from the December 15th total of 428,994 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 154,928 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 154,928 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on KOF. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Coca Cola Femsa from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Coca Cola Femsa from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Coca Cola Femsa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Coca Cola Femsa in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Coca Cola Femsa in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca Cola Femsa presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.67.

Coca Cola Femsa Price Performance

KOF opened at $99.15 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Coca Cola Femsa has a 1 year low of $72.68 and a 1 year high of $102.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.11. The stock has a market cap of $166.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.51.

Coca Cola Femsa (NYSE:KOF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. Coca Cola Femsa had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 8.13%. Analysts forecast that Coca Cola Femsa will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coca Cola Femsa Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a dividend of $0.9979 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Coca Cola Femsa’s dividend payout ratio is 64.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca Cola Femsa

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners increased its position in Coca Cola Femsa by 4,404.3% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,681,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,665,000 after buying an additional 1,644,614 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Coca Cola Femsa by 87.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 589,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,024,000 after acquiring an additional 274,894 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Coca Cola Femsa by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 531,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,369,000 after acquiring an additional 12,312 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Coca Cola Femsa by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 371,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,944,000 after purchasing an additional 14,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Coca Cola Femsa by 34.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 301,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,035,000 after purchasing an additional 77,475 shares during the period.

Coca Cola Femsa Company Profile

Coca‑Cola FEMSA (NYSE: KOF) is a large multinational beverage bottler and distributor operating primarily in Mexico and across multiple markets in Latin America. As a principal franchise bottler for The Coca‑Cola Company, the firm is responsible for producing, packaging, marketing and distributing Coca‑Cola branded beverages and a wide range of nonalcoholic drinks to retail and foodservice customers throughout its territories.

The company’s product portfolio includes carbonated soft drinks, bottled water, juices, ready‑to‑drink teas and coffees, sports and energy drinks, and other noncarbonated beverages.