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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA by 90.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 796,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,672,000 after buying an additional 378,325 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA by 73.9% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 261,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,160,000 after buying an additional 110,926 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,226,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,496,000 after buying an additional 157,530 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Coca-Cola FEMSA Stock Performance

NYSE KOF traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $79.32. 71,125 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 185,877. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Coca-Cola FEMSA has a 1 year low of $72.68 and a 1 year high of $104.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.60.

Coca-Cola FEMSA Cuts Dividend

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

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.