Compania Cervecerias Unidas (NYSE:CCU) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Compania Cervecerias Unidas, S.A. (NYSE:CCU) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 1,200,774 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 518% from the previous session’s volume of 194,438 shares.The stock last traded at $11.94 and had previously closed at $11.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CCU. Wall Street Zen raised Compania Cervecerias Unidas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Compania Cervecerias Unidas from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Compania Cervecerias Unidas in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Compania Cervecerias Unidas from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Compania Cervecerias Unidas Trading Up 2.0%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.80. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Compania Cervecerias Unidas (NYSE:CCU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $884.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.83 million. Compania Cervecerias Unidas had a return on equity of 7.34% and a net margin of 4.14%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Compania Cervecerias Unidas, S.A. will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compania Cervecerias Unidas

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CCU. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Compania Cervecerias Unidas during the 4th quarter valued at $6,748,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Compania Cervecerias Unidas by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,830,000 after buying an additional 526,665 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Compania Cervecerias Unidas by 386.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 166,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after buying an additional 132,083 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Compania Cervecerias Unidas by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 255,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,300,000 after buying an additional 116,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Compania Cervecerias Unidas by 172.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after buying an additional 109,867 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.07% of the company’s stock.

About Compania Cervecerias Unidas

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas SA (NYSE: CCU) is a Chile-based beverages company with operations across Latin America. The company engages in the production, marketing and distribution of beer, soft drinks, wines, mineral water and other non-alcoholic beverages. Through a combination of owned brands and licensing agreements, CCU serves both domestic and export markets with a diversified portfolio designed to meet evolving consumer tastes.

In its beer segment, CCU produces flagship brands such as Cristal, Escudo and Royal Guard, while also brewing international labels under license, including Heineken in select markets.