Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Price Target Cut to $3.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $3.50 to $3.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

ABEV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Scotiabank lowered shares of Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group set a $2.85 price target on shares of Ambev in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Ambev from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $3.30 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ambev has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $3.01.

Ambev Stock Performance

Shares of ABEV stock opened at $2.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.02. Ambev has a fifty-two week low of $2.28 and a fifty-two week high of $3.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.02. The company has a market capitalization of $41.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.58.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. Ambev had a return on equity of 18.36% and a net margin of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. Analysts expect that Ambev will post 0.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.0092 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ambev news, insider Carla Smith De Vasconcellos Crippa Prado sold 60,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total value of $187,739.13. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,707 shares in the company, valued at $249,384.63. This trade represents a 42.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new position in Ambev during the first quarter valued at $31,000. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Equitable Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Ambev News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ambev this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ambev’s board approved a new two-year program to repurchase up to 190 million shares. The company also completed a prior program and canceled 279 million repurchased shares, which could support per-share value by reducing the share count. Ambev share buyback program
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings per share were $0.05, matching analyst expectations, while Ambev reported a 17.48% return on equity and an 18.47% net margin. Ambev fiscal third-quarter earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Ambev filed its October Form 6-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and discussed third-quarter results with analysts. The earnings-call materials provide additional detail on performance and the outlook, but the headline results were broadly in line with expectations. Ambev Form 6-K filing
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of $4.17 billion fell short of the $4.21 billion consensus estimate, and reports characterized third-quarter profit as down 10%. The revenue miss and weaker profit trend likely outweighed the in-line EPS result. Ambev third-quarter profit report
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target for ABEV from $3.50 to $3.00 and maintained an “equal weight” rating. Although the new target still implies potential upside, the reduction signals more cautious expectations for the brewer’s growth and valuation. Barclays Ambev price target

About Ambev

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company headquartered in São Paulo and one of the largest beverage producers in Latin America. Its principal business is the production, distribution and sale of beer, although it also offers soft drinks, carbonated beverages, bottled water, energy drinks and other non-alcoholic products.

The company’s beer portfolio includes brands such as Brahma, Skol, Antarctica, Bohemia, Original, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, with brand availability varying by market.