Ranmore Fund Management Ltd Buys New Position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV)

Ranmore Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,114,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,611,000. Ambev accounts for 7.1% of Ranmore Fund Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ambev by 9.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,425,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,438,000 after buying an additional 878,900 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ambev by 132.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,976,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127,719 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ambev by 18.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 54,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 8,350 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Ambev by 298.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 802,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 600,545 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Ambev by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 14,512,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,882 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of Ambev stock opened at $2.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.12. Ambev S.A. has a 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $2.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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

Ambev Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ambev 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.