Short Interest in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) Rises By 104.3%

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,360,000 shares, a growth of 104.3% from the May 15th total of 5,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 14,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABEV. StockNews.com raised shares of Ambev from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ambev from $3.00 to $2.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Friday, March 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ambev currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2.68.

Ambev Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of ABEV stock traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $2.11. The stock had a trading volume of 20,650,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,771,268. The company has a market cap of $33.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.54. Ambev has a one year low of $2.05 and a one year high of $3.23.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 17.53%. Research analysts anticipate that Ambev will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ambev

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 203.9% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 120,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 80,641 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 51.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 128,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 43,705 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ambev during the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ambev during the third quarter valued at about $165,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ambev by 83.7% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,802,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,454 shares in the last quarter. 8.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, other non-alcoholic beverages, malt, and food products. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe and Hoegaarden, 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, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith's, and Kokanee brands.