Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) Receives $175.26 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $175.2632.

STZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $146.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

STZ stock opened at $148.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.90 and a 200-day moving average of $149.82. Constellation Brands has a 12-month low of $126.45 and a 12-month high of $178.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $25.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.39.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.19. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Constellation Brands will post 11.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Constellation Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 42.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP James O. Bourdeau sold 4,407 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total transaction of $631,258.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,304,773.16. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,409,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 69.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Constellation Brands

Constellation Brands, Inc is a leading producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits, with operations spanning production, importation, marketing and distribution. The company’s beverage portfolio includes a range of premium and mainstream wines and spirits alongside major imported beer brands; in the U.S. market Constellation is widely known for its role in bringing Mexican imports such as Corona and Modelo to American consumers. Constellation supplies retail, on?premise and foodservice channels and supports its brands with national sales and marketing platforms and supply?chain capabilities.

The company traces its roots to the Canandaigua Wine Company, founded by Marvin Sands in 1945, and evolved through organic growth and acquisition into a diversified beverage company.