Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $3.0933.

Several research analysts have issued reports on ABEV shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of Ambev stock opened at $3.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.96. The company has a market cap of $47.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Ambev has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $3.45.

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

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Ambev’s payout ratio is presently 10.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Paulo Andre Zagman sold 136,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $464,612.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 230,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,124.35. This represents a 37.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambev

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABEV. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ambev in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Ambev by 62.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,399,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,591,000 after purchasing an additional 922,566 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ambev by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,000,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,650,000 after purchasing an additional 582,153 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Ambev during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ambev during the first quarter worth approximately $264,000. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

About Ambev

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.