Analysts Set The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) Price Target at $258.09

Key Points

• The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from thirteen brokerages, with one sell rating, ten hold ratings, and two buy ratings.
• The company's average 1-year target price is $258.09, reflecting a decrease in target prices by some analysts, such as UBS Group's reduction from $275.00 to $214.00.
• Boston Beer recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $5.45, beating analysts' expectations, although revenue fell short of estimates at $587.95 million.

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $258.0917.

SAM has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $279.00 price target on shares of Boston Beer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $230.00 price target on shares of Boston Beer and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Boston Beer from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Boston Beer from $285.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Boston Beer from a "moderate sell" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Annette N. Fritsch sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.24, for a total transaction of $131,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,715 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,916.60. This represents a 5.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 26.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAM. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Boston Beer by 97.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 185,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,400,000 after purchasing an additional 91,667 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC raised its stake in Boston Beer by 72.7% during the 1st quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 210,553 shares of the company's stock worth $50,288,000 after acquiring an additional 88,624 shares during the period. J. Goldman & Co LP raised its stake in Boston Beer by 251.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 119,687 shares of the company's stock worth $35,904,000 after acquiring an additional 85,669 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Boston Beer by 278.0% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 112,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,467,000 after buying an additional 82,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Boston Beer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,412,000. 81.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Boston Beer Stock Performance

SAM stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $220.00. The company had a trading volume of 231,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,497. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.84. Boston Beer has a 12 month low of $185.34 and a 12 month high of $329.55. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $205.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.82.

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $5.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $1.08. Boston Beer had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 15.15%. The business had revenue of $587.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $599.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.39 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Boston Beer will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

About Boston Beer

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.