Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $250.41.

A number of analysts have commented on STZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $293.00 to $289.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STZ opened at $177.73 on Monday. Constellation Brands has a twelve month low of $160.46 and a twelve month high of $274.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $32.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.78, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $177.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Constellation Brands will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In related news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Constellation Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. Curi RMB Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 30.5% in the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 1,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 0.8% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 6.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 23,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 318.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,624,000 after buying an additional 7,752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

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.