Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Lowered to Sell Rating by UBS Group

UBS Group cut shares of Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $2.65 price objective on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ABEV. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ambev from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ambev presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.84.

Ambev Stock Performance

ABEV traded up $0.07 on Thursday, reaching $3.12. The stock had a trading volume of 3,676,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,603,779. Ambev has a 12-month low of $2.10 and a 12-month high of $3.24. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $3.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.65. The company has a market cap of $49.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.65.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 17.75%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ambev will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ambev news, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of Ambev stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $434,300.10. Following the sale, the insider owned 223,340 shares in the company, valued at $636,519. The trade was a 40.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ambev by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 3,553 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ambev by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,936 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its position 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 period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Ambev by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 140,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,557 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ambev by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 240,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Ambev Company Profile

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.