Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ)

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $293.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus lowered Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Constellation Brands from $280.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Roth Capital decreased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Constellation Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.29.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $172.79 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $166.02 and a 52 week high of $274.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.73. The company has a market capitalization of $31.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.45, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Constellation Brands will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is currently 108.60%.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In related news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,589,044. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,746 shares of company stock worth $15,017,097. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Constellation Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Constellation Brands by 23.3% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after buying an additional 824 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 31,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 17,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,520,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

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.