Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (NYSE:CCU) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (NYSE:CCU - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 289,100 shares, a growth of 12.8% from the March 31st total of 256,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 163,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCU traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.21. 56,495 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 159,387. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.69. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas has a 52 week low of $10.82 and a 52 week high of $17.74.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (NYSE:CCU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $639.60 million during the quarter. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 7.16%. Analysts predict that Compañía Cervecerías Unidas will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.102 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas's payout ratio is presently 30.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Compañía Cervecerías Unidas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 33.1% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 160,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,022,000 after purchasing an additional 39,945 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Malaga Cove Capital LLC bought a new position in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 24.0% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 1.3% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 15,102,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,295,000 after purchasing an additional 193,876 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.07% of the company's stock.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Company Profile

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas SA operates as a beverage company in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The company operates through three segments: Chile, International Business, and Wine. It produces and sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer under proprietary and licensed brands, as well as distributes Pernod Ricard products in non-supermarket retail stores.

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