Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ)

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.32% from the stock’s current price.

STZ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $255.00 target price (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.70.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $227.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.22 billion, a PE ratio of 73.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Constellation Brands has a 12-month low of $224.76 and a 12-month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Constellation Brands will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In related news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,725,683.76. This represents a 50.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the second quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its stake in Constellation Brands by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Constellation Brands during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Constellation Brands

Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, markets, and sells beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Familiar, Corona Hard Seltzer, Corona Light, Corona Non-Alcoholic, Corona Premier, Corona Refresca, Modelo Especial, Modelo Chelada, Modelo Negra, Modelo Oro, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.