Brokerages Set Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Price Target at $2.84

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2.8433.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group set a $2.65 price target on Ambev and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Ambev from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ambev from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th.

Ambev Stock Performance

Shares of Ambev stock opened at $2.94 on Friday. Ambev has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $3.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $46.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.65.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.75%.The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Ambev will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $434,300.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,340 shares in the company, valued at $636,519. This represents a 40.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambev

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABEV. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ambev by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,399,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,591,000 after purchasing an additional 922,566 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ambev by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,000,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,650,000 after purchasing an additional 582,153 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 1st quarter worth $264,000. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.