Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the four analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.45.

ABEV has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Ambev from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays lowered their target price on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of ABEV stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $2.25. 9,173,221 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,478,341. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.12. Ambev has a fifty-two week low of $1.76 and a fifty-two week high of $2.56. The firm has a market cap of $35.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). Ambev had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.42 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ambev will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.0221 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.94%.

Institutional Trading of Ambev

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABEV. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Ambev by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 196,676,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,851,000 after purchasing an additional 67,180,274 shares in the last quarter. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,602,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 1,641.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,001,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,154,000 after purchasing an additional 17,911,122 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Ambev by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,087,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,262,000 after buying an additional 17,440,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Ambev by 329.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 16,354,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,255,000 after buying an additional 12,546,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

About Ambev

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, malt and food, other alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated products in Brazil, Central America and Caribbean, Latin America South, and Canada. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Balboa ICE, Balboa, Atlas Golden Light, Atlas, Bucanero, Cristal, Mayabe, Presidente, Presidente Light, Brahma Light, Bohemia, The One, Corona, Modelo Especial, Stella Artois, Quilmes Clásica, Paceña, Taquiña, Huari, Becker, Cusqueña, Michelob Ultra, Busch, Pilsen, Ouro Fino, Bud 66, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith’s, and Kokanee brands.