Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $2.63 and last traded at $2.6150, with a volume of 4252889 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ABEV shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $2.88 price objective on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ambev from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $2.53.

Ambev Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $43.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.36.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.97 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.90% and a return on equity of 15.81%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.049 per share. This represents a yield of 1,465.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. Ambev’s payout ratio is currently 183.33%.

Institutional Trading of Ambev

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Ambev during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Ambev during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ambev in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Bensler LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ambev during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Foster Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ambev in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

About Ambev

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.