Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (NYSE:CCU) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (NYSE:CCU) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 740,800 shares, an increase of 9.9% from the September 30th total of 673,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 195,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Price Performance

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $10.90. 81,654 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,591. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.08 and its 200-day moving average is $11.64. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas has a 12 month low of $10.00 and a 12 month high of $13.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (NYSE:CCU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $561.95 million during the quarter. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.75%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Compañía Cervecerías Unidas will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compañía Cervecerías Unidas

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 15,741,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,143,000 after acquiring an additional 184,970 shares during the last quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 402,593 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 124.3% during the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 760,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,118,000 after acquiring an additional 421,374 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,121,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 82.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 24.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $12.90 to $10.50 in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Compañía Cervecerías Unidas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.36.

About Compañía Cervecerías Unidas

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.