Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $3.01 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is bearish: Six analysts have an average “Reduce” rating on Ambev, with two sell ratings and four holds. The consensus 12-month price target is $3.01, above the stock’s reported $2.71 opening price.
• Recent analyst actions included downgrades from Bank of America, Wall Street Zen, Weiss Ratings and Scotiabank, while Barclays lowered its price target from $3.50 to $3.00.
• Ambev’s latest quarter met expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.05, although revenue of $4.17 billion fell short of the $4.21 billion consensus estimate. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0092 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 1.4%.

Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $3.01.

ABEV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Ambev from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $3.30 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ambev from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Scotiabank cut Ambev from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Ambev from $3.50 to $3.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of ABEV opened at $2.71 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $3.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.02. The company has a market capitalization of $42.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.58. Ambev has a fifty-two week low of $2.28 and a fifty-two week high of $3.45. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Ambev had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 18.47%. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.21 billion. Research analysts predict that Ambev will post 0.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.0092 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Ambev's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.79%.

Insider Transactions at Ambev

In other Ambev news, insider Carla Smith De Vasconcellos Crippa Prado sold 60,757 shares of Ambev stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total transaction of $187,739.13. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $249,384.63. The trade was a 42.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambev

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ambev by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 349,323,217 shares of the company's stock worth $1,096,875,000 after buying an additional 2,338,660 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Ambev by 6.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,354,300 shares of the company's stock worth $79,875,000 after buying an additional 1,674,900 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its position in Ambev by 2.2% during the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 10,779,739 shares of the company's stock worth $31,477,000 after buying an additional 231,992 shares during the period. Formuepleje A S purchased a new stake in Ambev in the third quarter valued at approximately $23,610,000. Finally, DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in Ambev in the first quarter valued at approximately $14,778,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company's stock.

About Ambev

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company headquartered in São Paulo and one of the largest beverage producers in Latin America. Its principal business is the production, distribution and sale of beer, although it also offers soft drinks, carbonated beverages, bottled water, energy drinks and other non-alcoholic products.

The company's beer portfolio includes brands such as Brahma, Skol, Antarctica, Bohemia, Original, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, with brand availability varying by market.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.