Short Interest in Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Rises By 58.3%

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,020,000 shares, a growth of 58.3% from the February 13th total of 2,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,620,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This represents a 215.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Constellation Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 0.8% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.3% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.7% during the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Constellation Brands by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $255.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price target (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.81.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of Constellation Brands stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $181.46. 1,650,539 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,539,634. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $180.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10. Constellation Brands has a 12 month low of $160.46 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The stock has a market cap of $32.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.78, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75.

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, sell-side analysts forecast that Constellation Brands will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.60%.

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.