Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Ambev shares jumped from a $2.99 close to a $3.28 opening, later trading near $3.31 on volume of roughly 5.7 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: four analysts rate the stock Hold and one rates it Sell, producing a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $3.08 price target.
• Ambev reported quarterly EPS of $0.04, in line with estimates, while revenue of $3.89 billion missed the $4.05 billion consensus. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0092 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annualized yield.

Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $2.99, but opened at $3.28. Ambev shares last traded at $3.3050, with a volume of 5,700,078 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABEV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $2.85 target price on Ambev in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ambev from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Ambev from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ambev has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $3.08.

Ambev Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $2.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.58.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.04. Ambev had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 18.47%.The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.0092 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ambev's payout ratio is 15.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ambev news, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total value of $1,441,563.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,240,000. This trade represents a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambev

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Ambev by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,700,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,804,000 after purchasing an additional 566,949 shares during the period. Cook & Bynum Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ambev in the second quarter worth $4,251,588. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ambev by 0.7% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 349,323,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,096,875,000 after buying an additional 2,338,660 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of Ambev by 712.8% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 1,837,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,770,000 after buying an additional 1,611,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in Ambev by 62.0% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 967,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,824,000 after buying an additional 370,112 shares during the period. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company and one of the largest brewers in Latin America. The company produces, distributes and sells beer, carbonated soft drinks, nonalcoholic beverages and other drink products through a portfolio that includes brands such as Brahma, Skol, Antarctica, Bohemia, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Guaraná Antarctica.

Founded in 1999 through the merger of Companhia Antarctica Paulista and Companhia Cervejaria Brahma, Ambev became part of Anheuser-Busch InBev following the latter's combination with Anheuser-Busch in 2008.

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