Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2.6933.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Ambev from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $2.88 price target on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ambev from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambev

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monument Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in Ambev in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Ambev in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ambev during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of ABEV opened at $2.73 on Monday. Ambev has a 12 month low of $2.10 and a 12 month high of $3.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $2.91 and its 200-day moving average is $2.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

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.