Quantbot Technologies LP Grows Holdings in Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Ambev by 577.5% in Q3, purchasing 364,165 additional shares to hold 427,221 shares worth about $953,000.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with a $2.69 target, though some firms (Wall Street Zen, Weiss) upgraded to Buy and Barclays raised its target to $3.00.
• Ambev trades near $2.93 with a $46.2B market cap and a PE of 16.3; it reported EPS of $0.05 in the latest quarter (in line with estimates) and paid a special dividend of $0.049 per share.

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Free Report) by 577.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 427,221 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 364,165 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Ambev were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Ambev in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Bensler LLC bought a new stake in Ambev during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ambev by 2,224.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 11,721 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Ambev in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Ambev in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABEV. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ambev from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $2.88 price target on shares of Ambev in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ambev from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ambev from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.69.

Ambev Trading Up 0.3%

Ambev stock opened at $2.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $2.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.51. The stock has a market cap of $46.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.96. Ambev S.A. has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $3.24.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.28 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.75%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.049 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1,465.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. Ambev's payout ratio is currently 183.33%.

Ambev Profile

Ambev NYSE: ABEV is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company's core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.

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