Analyzing Compania Cervecerias Unidas (CCU) and The Competition

Compania Cervecerias Unidas (NYSE:CCU) is one of 30 publicly-traded companies in the “BEVERAGES – ALCOH” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Compania Cervecerias Unidas to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

24.1% of Compania Cervecerias Unidas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.9% of shares of all “BEVERAGES – ALCOH” companies are held by institutional investors. 8.4% of Compania Cervecerias Unidas shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.0% of shares of all “BEVERAGES – ALCOH” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Compania Cervecerias Unidas and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Compania Cervecerias Unidas	2	1	0	0	1.33
Compania Cervecerias Unidas Competitors	358	1470	1463	60	2.37

Compania Cervecerias Unidas currently has a consensus price target of $9.70, indicating a potential downside of 23.52%. As a group, “BEVERAGES – ALCOH” companies have a potential upside of 36.06%. Given Compania Cervecerias Unidas’ peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Compania Cervecerias Unidas has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Compania Cervecerias Unidas and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Compania Cervecerias Unidas	$3.08 billion	$177.04 million	13.49
Compania Cervecerias Unidas Competitors	$9.32 billion	$869.03 million	22.77

Compania Cervecerias Unidas’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Compania Cervecerias Unidas. Compania Cervecerias Unidas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Compania Cervecerias Unidas has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Compania Cervecerias Unidas’ peers have a beta of 1.62, indicating that their average stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Compania Cervecerias Unidas and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Compania Cervecerias Unidas	5.56%	8.83%	3.73%
Compania Cervecerias Unidas Competitors	4.89%	7.40%	4.06%

Dividends

Compania Cervecerias Unidas pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Compania Cervecerias Unidas pays out 27.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “BEVERAGES – ALCOH” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.6% and pay out 68.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Compania Cervecerias Unidas peers beat Compania Cervecerias Unidas on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

Compania Cervecerias Unidas Company Profile

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. 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. The company also produces and sells non-alcoholic beverages, including carbonated soft drinks, nectars and juices, sports and energy drinks, and ice tea; and mineral, purified, and flavored bottled water, as well as ready-to-mix products with instant powder drinks. In addition, it is involved in the production and distribution of pisco, cocktails, rum, flavored alcoholic beverages, gin, and cider. The company serves small and medium-sized retail outlets; retail establishments, such as restaurants, hotels, and bars; wholesalers; and supermarket chains. It also exports its products to Europe, Latin America, the United States, Canada, Asia, Oceania, and internationally. The company was founded in 1850 and is based in Santiago, Chile. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. is a subsidiary of Inversiones y Rentas S.A.