Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Short Interest Down 7.5% in March

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,060,000 shares, a drop of 7.5% from the March 15th total of 4,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambev

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Ambev by 8.9% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 42,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ambev by 8.4% during the third quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,953 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ambev by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,963 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ambev by 4.9% during the first quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 85,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 3,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Ambev by 0.8% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 502,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 3,985 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ABEV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays downgraded shares of Ambev from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $3.50 to $3.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Ambev in a research note on Friday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3.20.

Ambev Stock Performance

Shares of ABEV stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.26. The company had a trading volume of 14,382,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,882,530. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.63. Ambev has a 52-week low of $2.25 and a 52-week high of $3.23. The stock has a market cap of $35.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.01. Ambev had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 18.19%. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that Ambev will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Ambev

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, other non-alcoholic beverages, malt, and food products. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe and Hoegaarden, 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, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith's, and Kokanee brands.