Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ)

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $280.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 54.21% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $298.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $293.00 to $262.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.75.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Constellation Brands stock opened at $181.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.97 billion, a PE ratio of 58.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75. Constellation Brands has a one year low of $179.55 and a one year high of $274.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $231.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Constellation Brands will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 1,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.57, for a total transaction of $370,810.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,482.90. The trade was a 23.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,725,683.76. This trade represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Constellation Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STZ. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 494.8% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,152 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 17,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 113.2% in the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 33,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by 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.