Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Short Interest Up 23.8% in April

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,920,000 shares, an increase of 23.8% from the March 31st total of 4,780,000 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on STZ shares. Piper Sandler lowered Constellation Brands from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $260.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $284.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $255.00 to $190.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Constellation Brands from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $224.42.

Institutional Trading of Constellation Brands

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,242,976,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter worth $445,883,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company's stock worth $3,433,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821,969 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 186.6% in the 4th quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,527,689 shares of the company's stock worth $337,619,000 after buying an additional 994,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,265,000 after purchasing an additional 876,745 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Constellation Brands stock traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $187.05. 1,146,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,716,374. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $181.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.93. The stock has a market cap of $33.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. Constellation Brands has a one year low of $160.46 and a one year high of $265.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.35. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Constellation Brands will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This is a boost from Constellation Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Constellation Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -800.00%.

About Constellation Brands

Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, markets, and sells beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Familiar, Corona Hard Seltzer, Corona Light, Corona Non-Alcoholic, Corona Premier, Corona Refresca, Modelo Especial, Modelo Chelada, Modelo Negra, Modelo Oro, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.

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