Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ)

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $308.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 29.19% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on STZ. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen cut Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.47.

Constellation Brands Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE STZ traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $238.41. 201,456 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,197,709. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.22, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.90. Constellation Brands has a twelve month low of $224.76 and a twelve month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.70 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Constellation Brands will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total transaction of $8,768,537.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. The trade was a 69.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,725,683.76. This trade represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 189,296 shares of company stock worth $45,899,031. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 1.1% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $999,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 4.7% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Constellation Brands by 4.4% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

About Constellation Brands

Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, markets, and sells beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Familiar, Corona Hard Seltzer, Corona Light, Corona Non-Alcoholic, Corona Premier, Corona Refresca, Modelo Especial, Modelo Chelada, Modelo Negra, Modelo Oro, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.