Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $2.94 and last traded at $2.9450, with a volume of 5484054 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $2.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $2.88 price target on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $2.53.

Ambev Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $46.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd were paid a $0.049 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 1,465.0%. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.33%.

Institutional Trading of Ambev

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABEV. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Ambev by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 36,058,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,864,844 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Ambev by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,505,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479,310 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Ambev by 74.8% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,409,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740,155 shares during the period. Kiltearn Partners LLP increased its position in Ambev by 5.6% during the third quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 11,045,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,632,000 after buying an additional 590,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Ambev by 14.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,521,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,249,000 after buying an additional 1,178,503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.