Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM) Given New $245.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has reduced Boston Beer's price target from $270.00 to $245.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, which indicates a potential upside of 21.17% from the last close.
• Boston Beer reported a quarterly EPS of $5.45, surpassing estimates by $1.08, although revenue of $587.95 million fell short of expectations.
• Institutional ownership of Boston Beer is significant, with 81.13% of shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds, highlighting strong market confidence.

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $270.00 to $245.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 21.17% from the company's previous close.

SAM has been the topic of several other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Boston Beer from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $279.00 target price on shares of Boston Beer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Boston Beer from $275.00 to $214.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Boston Beer in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $281.10 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Boston Beer from $285.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Boston Beer presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $258.83.

Boston Beer Price Performance

Boston Beer stock opened at $202.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.99. Boston Beer has a 12-month low of $185.34 and a 12-month high of $329.55.

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $5.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $1.08. Boston Beer had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $587.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.39 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Boston Beer will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boston Beer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Boston Beer during the fourth quarter worth about $243,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boston Beer by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boston Beer by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Beer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Boston Beer by 98.9% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares in the last quarter. 81.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Boston Beer

The Boston Beer Company, Inc produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, and Coney Island brand names.

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