Brokerages Set Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Price Target at $3.01

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.0933.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Ambev Stock Down 2.4%

ABEV opened at $3.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.77. The company has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.61. Ambev has a 1 year low of $2.10 and a 1 year high of $3.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 17.69%.The firm had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Ambev will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be given a $0.0092 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 173.68%.

Insider Transactions at Ambev

In other Ambev news, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $434,300.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,519. This trade represents a 40.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of Ambev

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 172,969,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,235,000 after acquiring an additional 14,468,963 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 291.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 45,462,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,293,000 after acquiring an additional 33,842,540 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 12.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 36,058,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,864,844 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 9.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,505,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,479,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 6.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,354,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674,900 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.