Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ambev from hold to buy, even though broader analyst sentiment remains cautious. The stock’s consensus rating is still Reduce with an average target price of $3.01.
• Ambev recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.05 per share, matching expectations, while revenue of $4.32 billion came in slightly below estimates. The company also posted a 17.69% net margin and 16.63% return on equity.
• The shares opened at $3.30 and have traded between $2.10 and $3.45 over the past year. Institutional investors own about 8.13% of the stock, and several firms have recently increased their holdings.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

ABEV has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group set a $2.65 price target on shares of Ambev and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ambev from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $3.01.

Ambev Price Performance

NYSE ABEV opened at $3.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.73. The company has a market cap of $51.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.61. Ambev has a 1 year low of $2.10 and a 1 year high of $3.45.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.69% and a return on equity of 16.63%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ambev will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ambev

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambev

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABEV. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 291.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 45,462,628 shares of the company's stock worth $112,293,000 after acquiring an additional 33,842,540 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ambev by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 172,969,655 shares of the company's stock worth $427,235,000 after purchasing an additional 14,468,963 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ambev by 248.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,135,697 shares of the company's stock worth $32,445,000 after purchasing an additional 9,361,815 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Ambev by 74.8% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,409,316 shares of the company's stock worth $32,624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 1st quarter worth about $14,778,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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