Needham & Company LLC Initiates Coverage on Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ)

Analysts at Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.15% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on STZ. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $255.00 price target (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.70.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $239.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $240.10 and a 200 day moving average of $246.23. Constellation Brands has a 12 month low of $224.76 and a 12 month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Constellation Brands will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In related news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $1,761,744.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,725,683.76. The trade was a 50.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Constellation Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STZ. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 1.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Constellation Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $257,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, markets, and sells beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Familiar, Corona Hard Seltzer, Corona Light, Corona Non-Alcoholic, Corona Premier, Corona Refresca, Modelo Especial, Modelo Chelada, Modelo Negra, Modelo Oro, Victoria, Vicky Chamoy, and Pacifico brands.