Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $2.99, but opened at $3.28. Ambev shares last traded at $3.3050, with a volume of 5,700,078 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABEV has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group set a $2.85 price objective on shares of Ambev in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.08.

Ambev Trading Down 0.8%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $2.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.04. The stock has a market cap of $50.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.04. Ambev had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.0092 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ambev’s payout ratio is currently 15.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Manuel Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,240,000. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its position in shares of Ambev by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 173,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 3,702 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ambev by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 62,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 4,121 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its position in Ambev by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 349,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 4,437 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC increased its stake in Ambev by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 150,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company and one of the largest brewers in Latin America. The company produces, distributes and sells beer, carbonated soft drinks, nonalcoholic beverages and other drink products through a portfolio that includes brands such as Brahma, Skol, Antarctica, Bohemia, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Guaraná Antarctica.

Founded in 1999 through the merger of Companhia Antarctica Paulista and Companhia Cervejaria Brahma, Ambev became part of Anheuser-Busch InBev following the latter’s combination with Anheuser-Busch in 2008.