Brokerages Set Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Target Price at $2.45

Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.45.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABEV. Morgan Stanley cut Ambev from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambev

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABEV. State Street Corp raised its stake in Ambev by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,425,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,438,000 after purchasing an additional 878,900 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ambev by 132.9% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,976,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,822,000 after buying an additional 1,127,719 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Ambev by 18.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 54,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 8,350 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Ambev by 298.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 802,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 600,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ambev by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,882 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Ambev Trading Up 7.0 %

NYSE:ABEV opened at $2.30 on Monday. Ambev has a 1 year low of $1.76 and a 1 year high of $2.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $2.12 and a 200-day moving average of $2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $36.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.42 billion. Equities analysts predict that Ambev will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.0221 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.94%.

About Ambev

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, malt and food, other alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated products in Brazil, Central America and Caribbean, Latin America South, and Canada. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Balboa ICE, Balboa, Atlas Golden Light, Atlas, Bucanero, Cristal, Mayabe, Presidente, Presidente Light, Brahma Light, Bohemia, The One, Corona, Modelo Especial, Stella Artois, Quilmes Clásica, Paceña, Taquiña, Huari, Becker, Cusqueña, Michelob Ultra, Busch, Pilsen, Ouro Fino, Bud 66, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith’s, and Kokanee brands.