Wall Street Zen Downgrades Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) to Hold

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $2.88 target price on shares of Ambev in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ambev from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.69.

Ambev Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ABEV stock opened at $2.87 on Friday. Ambev has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $3.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.54. The company has a market cap of $45.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.64.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. Ambev had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The company had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Research analysts forecast that Ambev will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambev

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ambev during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Monument Capital Management purchased a new position in Ambev in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Ambev during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Ambev during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bensler LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ambev during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.