Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings cut Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $2.65 target price on Ambev and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.01.

Ambev Stock Performance

NYSE:ABEV opened at $3.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.61. Ambev has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $3.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.73.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.69% and a return on equity of 16.63%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ambev will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ambev

In other Ambev news, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $434,300.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,519. This represents a 40.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 291.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 45,462,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,293,000 after purchasing an additional 33,842,540 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ambev by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 172,969,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,235,000 after buying an additional 14,468,963 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ambev by 248.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,135,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,445,000 after buying an additional 9,361,815 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Ambev by 74.8% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,409,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,624,000 after buying an additional 5,740,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in shares of Ambev in the 1st quarter worth $14,778,000. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.