Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Trading Up 3.1% – What’s Next?

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ)’s share price rose 3.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $184.01 and last traded at $183.91. Approximately 847,221 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 1,572,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on STZ shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $201.00 price target (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $203.00 target price (down previously from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $220.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup cut Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $200.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.18.

Constellation Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $33.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.38, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.45.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.08). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Constellation Brands

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821,969 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,755,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,155,946,000 after buying an additional 324,690 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,048,000 after buying an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,242,976,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,204,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,844,000 after acquiring an additional 63,323 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.