Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) Short Interest Update

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:KOF) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 294,300 shares, a drop of 14.4% from the December 15th total of 343,700 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 157,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KOF shares. StockNews.com raised Coca-Cola FEMSA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup upgraded Coca-Cola FEMSA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola FEMSA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA by 90.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 796,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,672,000 after purchasing an additional 378,325 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA by 59.8% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 813,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,297,000 after buying an additional 304,197 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA by 73.9% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 261,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,160,000 after buying an additional 110,926 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA during the 2nd quarter worth $7,708,000. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA during the 3rd quarter worth $3,912,000.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Stock Performance

Shares of KOF traded down $0.24 on Friday, reaching $76.09. 130,635 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 105,072. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.07. The stock has a market cap of $127.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.83. Coca-Cola FEMSA has a 52-week low of $73.90 and a 52-week high of $104.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.7433 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Coca-Cola FEMSA’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

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.