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

Shares of Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) gapped down prior to trading 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

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

Ambev Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $43.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.58. 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.

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

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Carla Smith De Vasconcellos Crippa Prado sold 60,757 shares of Ambev stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 80,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,384.63. The trade was a 42.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total transaction of $1,441,563.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,240,000. This trade represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. 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 modified their holdings of the company. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its position in shares of Ambev by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 173,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 3,702 shares during the last quarter. Focused Alpha LLC grew its position in shares of Ambev by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Focused Alpha LLC now owns 112,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 3,851 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ambev by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 62,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 4,121 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ambev by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 349,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 4,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ambev by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 4,941 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Company Profile

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.