Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (NYSE:CCU) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (NYSE:CCU) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 82,738 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the previous session’s volume of 163,123 shares.The stock last traded at $11.67 and had previously closed at $11.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from $10.50 to $9.40 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.03.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 1st were issued a dividend of $0.1498 per share. This is a boost from Compañía Cervecerías Unidas’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.10. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas’s payout ratio is 38.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCU. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 31,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 13,668 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 37.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 79,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 21,630 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 82.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 166,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 75,147 shares during the period. Genesis Investment Management LLP raised its position in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,590,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,495,000 after purchasing an additional 402,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,892,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,006,000 after buying an additional 39,971 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.07% of the company’s stock.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Company Profile

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas SA operates as a beverage company in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The company operates through three segments: Chile, International Business, and Wine. It produces and sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer under proprietary and licensed brands, as well as distributes Pernod Ricard products in non-supermarket retail stores.