Short Interest in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Increases By 58.3%

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,020,000 shares, an increase of 58.3% from the February 13th total of 2,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,620,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 0.8% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.3% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.7% in the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on STZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $203.00 target price (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Roth Capital decreased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $293.00 to $289.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.81.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE STZ traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $181.46. 1,650,539 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,539,634. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.08. Constellation Brands has a one year low of $160.46 and a one year high of $274.87. The company has a market cap of $32.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Constellation Brands will post 13.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, markets, and sells beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Familiar, Corona Hard Seltzer, Corona Light, Corona Non-Alcoholic, Corona Premier, Corona Refresca, Modelo Especial, Modelo Chelada, Modelo Negra, Modelo Oro, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.