Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $360.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $335.00. Jefferies Financial Group's target price points to a potential upside of 26.44% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SAM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boston Beer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Boston Beer from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Boston Beer from $390.00 to $355.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Boston Beer from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $273.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Boston Beer from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $333.93.

Boston Beer Stock Performance

SAM stock traded up $0.89 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $284.71. 413,322 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 160,056. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $326.74. Boston Beer has a 12 month low of $264.63 and a 12 month high of $395.52.

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.96. Boston Beer had a return on equity of 10.11% and a net margin of 4.60%. The firm had revenue of $426.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.18 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Boston Beer will post 10.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Boston Beer news, insider Carolyn L. O'boyle sold 101 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.49, for a total transaction of $30,652.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,231.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 24.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Boston Beer by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,518 shares of the company's stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Boston Beer by 13.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Boston Beer by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new position in shares of Boston Beer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $433,000. Finally, CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Boston Beer by 43.2% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 607 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.13% of the company's stock.

Boston Beer Company Profile

The Boston Beer Company, Inc produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, and Coney Island brand names.