Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (NYSE:CCU) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (NYSE:CCU) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the November 15th total of 960,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 215,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from $10.50 to $9.40 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.03.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Compañía Cervecerías Unidas

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCU. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 1.2% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 15,741,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,143,000 after buying an additional 184,970 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 2.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,892,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,006,000 after purchasing an additional 39,971 shares in the last quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 33.9% in the third quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,590,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,495,000 after purchasing an additional 402,593 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new position in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas in the second quarter worth about $2,121,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 82.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 166,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after buying an additional 75,147 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.07% of the company’s stock.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCU opened at $11.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.32. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas has a one year low of $10.00 and a one year high of $13.74.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 1st were issued a $0.1498 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Compañía Cervecerías Unidas’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.67%.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Company Profile

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas SA operates as a beverage company in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The company operates through three segments: Chile, International Business, and Wine. It produces and sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer under proprietary and licensed brands, as well as distributes Pernod Ricard products in non-supermarket retail stores.