Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on Ambev from $3.00 to $2.50 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ambev currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $2.68.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of ABEV opened at $2.09 on Monday. Ambev has a 1-year low of $2.05 and a 1-year high of $3.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $32.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.49.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4 billion. Ambev had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 18.25%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ambev will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in Ambev by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 65,003,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,210,000 after purchasing an additional 5,943,974 shares during the last quarter. Seafarer Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ambev by 29.9% during the first quarter. Seafarer Capital Partners LLC now owns 25,199,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,494,000 after buying an additional 5,800,000 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP raised its holdings in shares of Ambev by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 51,517,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,494,000 after buying an additional 5,699,184 shares during the period. Oldfield Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,157,000. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 73.3% during the first quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 10,168,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,607,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Ambev Company Profile

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.