Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a cautious view of Ambev: six analysts give the stock a consensus “Reduce” rating, with one sell and five hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $3.08, slightly above the reported $3.02 opening price.
• Ambev’s latest quarterly results met expectations on earnings at $0.04 per share, but revenue of $3.89 billion fell short of the $4.05 billion analyst estimate. Shares have traded between $2.10 and $3.45 over the past year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.0092 per share, equivalent to a 1.2% annualized yield. Separately, a director sold 468,040 shares, reducing his ownership by 13.5%.

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $3.0767.

ABEV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $2.85 price target on shares of Ambev in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Scotiabank cut Ambev from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ambev news, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of Ambev stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of Ambev

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ambev in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Ambev by 62.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,399,472 shares of the company's stock worth $5,591,000 after buying an additional 922,566 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Ambev by 13.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,000,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,650,000 after acquiring an additional 582,153 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Ambev during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ambev during the first quarter worth approximately $264,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Ambev stock opened at $3.02 on Monday. Ambev has a 12-month low of $2.10 and a 12-month high of $3.45. The company has a market cap of $47.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company's 50-day moving average price is $2.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.05.

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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 17.48%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ambev will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a $0.0092 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. Ambev's dividend payout ratio is 10.00%.

About Ambev

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 and other nonalcoholic beverages through a portfolio of local, regional and international brands.

Its beer portfolio includes brands such as Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Bohemia, Original, Stella Artois and Budweiser, while its nonalcoholic beverage offerings include products marketed under brands such as Guaraná Antarctica and Pepsi.

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