Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Stock Keeps "Underperform" Rating at Bank of America

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating reissued by investment analysts at Bank of America in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $3.30 price target on the stock. Bank of America's price target points to a potential upside of 2.33% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group set a $2.85 price objective on Ambev in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Scotiabank downgraded Ambev from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $3.13.

Ambev Price Performance

NYSE ABEV opened at $3.23 on Wednesday. Ambev has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $3.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $2.96 and a 200 day moving average of $3.04. The company has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.04. Ambev had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 18.47%.The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ambev will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ambev news, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total transaction of $1,441,563.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,240,000. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABEV. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ambev by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 185,499 shares of the company's stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 28,350 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Ambev in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ambev by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,066,693 shares of the company's stock worth $12,769,000 after purchasing an additional 31,942 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ambev by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 146,396 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 23,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Ambev in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $770,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company and one of the largest brewers in Latin America. The company produces, distributes and sells beer, carbonated soft drinks, nonalcoholic beverages and other drink products through a portfolio that includes brands such as Brahma, Skol, Antarctica, Bohemia, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Guaraná Antarctica.

Founded in 1999 through the merger of Companhia Antarctica Paulista and Companhia Cervejaria Brahma, Ambev became part of Anheuser-Busch InBev following the latter's combination with Anheuser-Busch in 2008.