Ambev S.A. Announces Dividend of $0.02 (NYSE:ABEV)

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) announced a dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, NASDAQ Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of 0.0221 per share on Monday, April 14th. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th.

Ambev has a dividend payout ratio of 83.3% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Research analysts expect Ambev to earn $0.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.15 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 88.2%.

Ambev Trading Up 5.8 %

ABEV stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $2.11. 40,312,567 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,283,379. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.14. Ambev has a 52-week low of $1.76 and a 52-week high of $2.72.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.42 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ambev will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABEV. Bank of America downgraded shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on Ambev in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ambev currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.45.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, malt and food, other alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated products in Brazil, Central America and Caribbean, Latin America South, and Canada. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Balboa ICE, Balboa, Atlas Golden Light, Atlas, Bucanero, Cristal, Mayabe, Presidente, Presidente Light, Brahma Light, Bohemia, The One, Corona, Modelo Especial, Stella Artois, Quilmes Clásica, Paceña, Taquiña, Huari, Becker, Cusqueña, Michelob Ultra, Busch, Pilsen, Ouro Fino, Bud 66, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith’s, and Kokanee brands.