Brokerages Set Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Target Price at $2.69

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2.6933.

ABEV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $2.88 price objective on shares of Ambev in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ambev in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Ambev in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev during the third quarter worth $25,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Ambev during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bensler LLC purchased a new position in Ambev in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ambev Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:ABEV opened at $2.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.64. Ambev has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $3.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.50.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.75%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ambev will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a $0.049 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 1,465.0%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is currently 183.33%.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.