Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 64.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,404 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,175 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Ambev were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Ambev by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 84,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 173,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,078 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 85,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 6,164 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ambev by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 65,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 7,211 shares during the period. Finally, Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL grew its position in Ambev by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 34,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 7,635 shares during the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ambev Stock Performance

ABEV opened at $2.31 on Friday. Ambev S.A. has a 1-year low of $1.76 and a 1-year high of $2.56. The stock has a market cap of $36.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.42 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 16.12%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ambev S.A. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ambev Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.0221 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ambev’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ambev from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com started coverage on Ambev in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.45.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, malt and food, other alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated products in Brazil, Central America and Caribbean, Latin America South, and Canada. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Balboa ICE, Balboa, Atlas Golden Light, Atlas, Bucanero, Cristal, Mayabe, Presidente, Presidente Light, Brahma Light, Bohemia, The One, Corona, Modelo Especial, Stella Artois, Quilmes Clásica, Paceña, Taquiña, Huari, Becker, Cusqueña, Michelob Ultra, Busch, Pilsen, Ouro Fino, Bud 66, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith’s, and Kokanee brands.