Short Interest in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) Decreases By 14.7%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 14.7% to 5,245,484 shares as of March 31, equal to about 0.3% of the stock and a short-interest ratio of 2.2 days based on average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is favorable with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.50, as several firms have reiterated or raised buy/overweight ratings.
• Anheuser‑Busch InBev recently beat quarterly estimates—EPS $0.95 vs. $0.91 and revenue $15.56B vs. $15.48B—and the stock trades around $75.72 with a P/E of 22.01 and a market cap near $147.7B.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,245,484 shares, a decline of 14.7% from the March 15th total of 6,146,573 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,353,061 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in a report on Monday, February 16th. DZ Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUD. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 52.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,036 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 7.8% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,869 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 25.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,318,248 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock worth $81,151,000 after purchasing an additional 265,783 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 40.1% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,562 shares of the consumer goods maker's stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV during the second quarter worth about $120,000. 5.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE BUD traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.72. 1,224,302 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,235,680. The stock has a market cap of $147.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.50. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a 1-year low of $56.97 and a 1-year high of $81.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The consumer goods maker reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.04. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 15.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Company Profile

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV NYSE: BUD is a multinational brewing company headquartered in Leuven, Belgium. It is one of the world's largest brewers and is primarily engaged in the production, distribution and marketing of beer and related beverages. The company's operations span brewing, packaging, logistics and retail/customer sales support, serving a broad set of channels from on-premise hospitality to retail and e-commerce.

AB InBev's portfolio includes a mix of global, regional and local beer brands across mainstream, premium, craft and non-alcoholic categories.

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