Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) gapped down before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $3.30, but opened at $2.86. Ambev shares last traded at $2.8050, with a volume of 8,758,554 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $2.85 price objective on shares of Ambev in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $3.30 target price on shares of Ambev in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Scotiabank cut Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ambev from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.13.

Ambev Trading Down 16.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3.03 and its 200 day moving average is $3.08. The company has a market capitalization of $43.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.58.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 17.48%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0092 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. Ambev’s payout ratio is currently 15.00%.

Insider Activity at Ambev

In other Ambev news, insider Carla Smith De Vasconcellos Crippa Prado sold 60,757 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total value of $187,739.13. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,384.63. This trade represents a 42.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of Ambev stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total value of $1,441,563.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,240,000. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambev

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Ambev by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,700,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,804,000 after purchasing an additional 566,949 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ambev by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 349,323,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,096,875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338,660 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its holdings in Ambev by 712.8% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 1,837,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611,577 shares in the last quarter. Cook & Bynum Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ambev in the 2nd quarter worth $4,251,588. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ambev by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 967,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,824,000 after purchasing an additional 370,112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

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.