Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $2.63 and last traded at $2.5850, with a volume of 4389452 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABEV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $2.88 price objective on shares of Ambev in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ambev from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Ambev from $2.50 to $2.20 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ambev currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.53.

Ambev Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $40.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.70.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. Ambev had a net margin of 17.90% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.97 billion. Research analysts predict that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ambev

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 12.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 36,058,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,864,844 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,505,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,288,000 after buying an additional 2,479,310 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ambev by 105.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,170,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,677,000 after buying an additional 8,312,561 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in Ambev by 74.8% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,409,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,624,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Ambev by 5.6% in the third quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 11,045,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,632,000 after acquiring an additional 590,000 shares during the period. 8.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.