Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $201.00 target price (down from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $282.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.05.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

STZ opened at $184.05 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 company has a market capitalization of $33.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $226.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.82. Constellation Brands has a 1-year low of $176.51 and a 1-year high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. Constellation Brands’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Constellation Brands will post 13.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total value of $8,768,537.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. This represents a 69.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,589,044. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,172 shares of company stock valued at $16,778,841 over the last three months. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Constellation Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 887.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Constellation Brands in the third quarter worth $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 68.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

About Constellation Brands

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.