Guidance Capital Inc. Boosts Stake in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)

Guidance Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,209 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Guidance Capital Inc.’s holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Grimes & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,099,000. Southern Style Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,074,000. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 568.4% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 30,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 25,512 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 84,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 318.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after buying an additional 7,752 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $172.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $166.02 and a one year high of $274.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.43, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.52 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $6,089,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,771,800.92. The trade was a 77.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,746 shares of company stock valued at $15,017,097. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on STZ shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $293.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Roth Capital lowered their target price on Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.29.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

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.