Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Five equities 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.com, Ambev presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.09.

Ambev Stock Performance

Shares of ABEV stock opened at $3.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.15 and a 200 day moving average of $2.92. Ambev has a 1 year low of $2.10 and a 1 year high of $3.45.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 17.69%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ambev will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ambev

In other news, insider Paulo Andre Zagman sold 136,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $464,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 230,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,124.35. This represents a 37.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambev

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABEV. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ambev by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its holdings in Ambev by 2.2% during the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 173,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 3,702 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,936 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Ambev by 7.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 62,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 4,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its holdings in Ambev by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 100,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 4,237 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

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.