Advisors Preferred LLC Invests $1.69 Million in Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 764,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,690,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ambev during the third quarter worth about $2,805,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ambev by 118.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,659,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,232 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Ambev by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 36,058,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,864,844 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 216.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 1,784,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eldred Rock Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 11.6% in the third quarter. Eldred Rock Partners LLC now owns 3,962,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,926,000 after purchasing an additional 412,189 shares during the period. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABEV opened at $3.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $2.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.45. Ambev S.A. has a 52 week low of $1.87 and a 52 week high of $3.23. The stock has a market cap of $48.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.65.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.75%.The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.049 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 1,465.0%. Ambev’s payout ratio is presently 183.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $2.88 target price on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Ambev from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.69.

About Ambev

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.