Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group set a $2.85 target price on shares of Ambev in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Scotiabank cut shares of Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ambev presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $3.08.

Ambev Stock Up 0.9%

ABEV stock opened at $2.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.65. Ambev has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $3.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.05.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 17.48%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ambev will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0092 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. Ambev’s payout ratio is presently 10.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ricardo Manuel Frangat Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total value of $1,441,563.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,240,000. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambev

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Ambev during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Ambev during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ambev during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. S Harris Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Royal Palms Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

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.