Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on STZ. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Argus lowered Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $201.00 price objective (down from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Constellation Brands from $255.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.81.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $181.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.58 and a 200 day moving average of $219.38. Constellation Brands has a 12 month low of $160.46 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The firm has a market cap of $32.79 billion, a PE ratio of 48.78, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. Constellation Brands’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Constellation Brands will post 13.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.23%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 30.5% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently 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.