Traders Buy Large Volume of Ambev Call Options (NYSE:ABEV)

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 5,699 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 361% compared to the average volume of 1,236 call options.

Institutional Trading of Ambev

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 196,676,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,851,000 after purchasing an additional 67,180,274 shares during the last quarter. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Ambev during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,602,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Ambev by 1,641.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,001,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,154,000 after acquiring an additional 17,911,122 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Ambev by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,087,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,262,000 after acquiring an additional 17,440,564 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 329.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 16,354,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,255,000 after purchasing an additional 12,546,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ABEV. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Ambev from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America lowered Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.45.

Ambev Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ABEV opened at $2.50 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.13. The company has a market capitalization of $39.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.80. Ambev has a 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $2.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.0221 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s payout ratio is currently 52.94%.

Ambev Company Profile

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.