Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Earns Underperform Rating from Bank of America

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Bank of America in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $3.30 price target on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.94% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group set a $2.85 price target on shares of Ambev in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.13.

Ambev Stock Down 1.4%

ABEV traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $3.18. 8,584,561 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,435,508. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.04. The company has a market cap of $50.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.58. Ambev has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $3.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ambev news, 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 transaction of $1,441,563.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,240,000. This trade represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ambev in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Ambev in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. World Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Ambev in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. S Harris Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ambev in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. bought a new stake in Ambev in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ambev

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.