Two Sigma Securities LLC Buys Shares of 69,202 Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 69,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Ambev by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 22,880 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Ambev by 268.7% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 52,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 38,146 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 599,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 31,408 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ambev by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 9,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC increased its stake in Ambev by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 97,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 16,435 shares during the period. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABEV opened at $2.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68. Ambev S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $1.76 and a fifty-two week high of $2.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). Ambev had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 17.02%. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.42 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.0221 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s payout ratio is currently 52.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABEV has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group cut Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America lowered Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.45.

Ambev Profile

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, malt and food, other alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated products in Brazil, Central America and Caribbean, Latin America South, and Canada. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Balboa ICE, Balboa, Atlas Golden Light, Atlas, 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, Bud 66, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith’s, and Kokanee brands.