Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Short Interest Down 7.5% in March

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,060,000 shares, a drop of 7.5% from the March 15th total of 4,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 12,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ABEV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ambev in a report on Friday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Ambev from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $3.50 to $3.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ambev presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3.20.

Ambev Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of ABEV traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $2.26. The stock had a trading volume of 14,382,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,882,530. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Ambev has a 52 week low of $2.25 and a 52 week high of $3.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.50 and a 200 day moving average of $2.63. The company has a market cap of $35.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.08.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter. Ambev had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 17.60%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ambev will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambev

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 42,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 3,464 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 3,953 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 3,963 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 85,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 3,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 502,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 3,985 shares during the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, other non-alcoholic beverages, malt, and food products. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe and Hoegaarden, 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, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith's, and Kokanee brands.