Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ABEV. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ambev from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $2.85 price objective on shares of Ambev in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $3.30 price objective on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.13.

Ambev Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE ABEV opened at $3.23 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $2.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.06. Ambev has a 52-week low of $2.10 and a 52-week high of $3.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 17.48% and a net margin of 18.47%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ambev will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.0092 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. Ambev’s payout ratio is 15.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Carla Smith De Vasconcellos Crippa Prado sold 60,757 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total value of $187,739.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 80,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,384.63. This represents a 42.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,240,000. This trade represents a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambev

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABEV. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ambev by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 185,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 28,350 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ambev during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ambev by 0.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,066,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,769,000 after acquiring an additional 31,942 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 19.1% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 146,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 23,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Ambev during the second quarter worth approximately $770,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company and one of the largest brewers in Latin America. The company produces, distributes and sells beer, carbonated soft drinks, nonalcoholic beverages and other drink products through a portfolio that includes brands such as Brahma, Skol, Antarctica, Bohemia, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Guaraná Antarctica.

Founded in 1999 through the merger of Companhia Antarctica Paulista and Companhia Cervejaria Brahma, Ambev became part of Anheuser-Busch InBev following the latter’s combination with Anheuser-Busch in 2008.