Comparing Ambev (ABEV) and Its Rivals

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) is one of 137 publicly-traded companies in the “Beverages” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Ambev to similar companies based on the strength of its valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Ambev pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ambev pays out 15.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Beverages” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.9% and pay out 48.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Ambev and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ambev	2	4	0	0	1.67
Ambev Competitors	1282	4324	5767	230	2.43

Ambev presently has a consensus price target of $3.01, suggesting a potential upside of 13.71%. As a group, “Beverages” companies have a potential upside of 9.03%. Given Ambev’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Ambev is more favorable than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Ambev and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ambev	17.80%	18.13%	11.50%
Ambev Competitors	-8.60%	-34.42%	0.16%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ambev and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ambev	$15.80 billion	$2.78 billion	13.92
Ambev Competitors	$8.49 billion	$869.16 million	9.39

Ambev has higher revenue and earnings than its peers. Ambev is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Risk & Volatility

Ambev has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ambev’s peers have a beta of -0.23, indicating that their average stock price is 123% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

8.1% of Ambev shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.3% of shares of all “Beverages” companies are held by institutional investors. 19.4% of shares of all “Beverages” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ambev beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Ambev

Ambev S.A., 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. The company also provides carbonated soft drinks, bottled water, isotonic beverages, energy drinks, coconut water, powdered and natural juices, and ready-to-drink teas under the Guaraná Antarctica, Gatorade, H2OH!, Pepsi Black, Lipton Iced Tea, Fusion, Pepsi-Cola, Canada Dry, Squirt, Red Rock, Red Bull, Seven Up, Nutrl, Bud Light Seltzer, Palm Bay, and Mike’s brands. It offers its products through a network of third-party distributors and a direct distribution system. The company was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. Ambev S.A. is a subsidiary of Interbrew International B.V.