Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Downgraded by Piper Sandler to Neutral

Piper Sandler lowered shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Piper Sandler currently has $200.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $245.00.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $201.00 price target (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group cut their target price on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.29.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 3.6 %

Constellation Brands stock opened at $174.31 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $215.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Constellation Brands has a 12 month low of $166.02 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The stock has a market cap of $31.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued 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). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Constellation Brands will post 13.52 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is presently 108.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $6,089,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,771,800.92. This trade represents a 77.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 61,746 shares of company stock worth $15,017,097. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,265,000 after purchasing an additional 876,745 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,765,000 after buying an additional 497,543 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after buying an additional 402,211 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 369,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,762,000 after buying an additional 147,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 617.3% during the 3rd quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 108,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,929,000 after acquiring an additional 93,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

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.