Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Stock Has Average Target Price of $3.13

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.13.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ABEV shares. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. UBS Group set a $2.85 price target on Ambev in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ambev from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $3.30 price target on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Carla Smith De Vasconcellos Crippa Prado sold 60,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total transaction of $187,739.13. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,384.63. This trade represents a 42.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total value of $1,441,563.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,240,000. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambev

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Formuepleje A S acquired a new position in shares of Ambev during the 3rd quarter worth about $23,610,000. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in Ambev during the 1st quarter worth $14,778,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Ambev by 0.7% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 349,323,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,096,875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338,660 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Ambev by 6.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,354,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,900 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 712.8% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 1,837,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,770,000 after buying an additional 1,611,577 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Ambev Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ABEV opened at $3.25 on Friday. Ambev has a 1-year low of $2.16 and a 1-year high of $3.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.58. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. Ambev had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Ambev will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.0092 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.00%.

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.