Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Up 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) shares were up 2.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $2.33 and last traded at $2.34. Approximately 2,472,320 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 26,181,355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Ambev in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.45.

Ambev Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $36.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.12.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.0221 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.94%.

Institutional Trading of Ambev

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ambev by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,425,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,438,000 after purchasing an additional 878,900 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 132.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,976,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,822,000 after buying an additional 1,127,719 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 54,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 8,350 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Ambev by 298.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 802,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after buying an additional 600,545 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ambev by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,882 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

About Ambev

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, malt and food, other alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated products in Brazil, Central America and Caribbean, Latin America South, and Canada. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Balboa ICE, Balboa, Atlas Golden Light, Atlas, Bucanero, Cristal, Mayabe, Presidente, Presidente Light, Brahma Light, Bohemia, The One, Corona, Modelo Especial, Stella Artois, Quilmes Clásica, Paceña, Taquiña, Huari, Becker, Cusqueña, Michelob Ultra, Busch, Pilsen, Ouro Fino, Bud 66, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith’s, and Kokanee brands.