Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $261.00 price target on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on STZ. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $307.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.83.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

NYSE STZ opened at $241.67 on Monday. Constellation Brands has a 52-week low of $224.76 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $43.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $242.80 and a 200-day moving average of $247.27.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.08 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Constellation Brands will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Samuel J. Glaetzer sold 1,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.57, for a total transaction of $370,810.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,482.90. This trade represents a 23.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Constellation Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STZ. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 23,184.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 499,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,765,000 after buying an additional 497,543 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $119,394,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 6.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after buying an additional 402,211 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 50.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 975,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,099,000 after buying an additional 328,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 31.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,002,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,865,000 after buying an additional 241,982 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.