Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $300.00 to $295.00. The stock had previously closed at $241.67, but opened at $232.83. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Constellation Brands shares last traded at $232.64, with a volume of 402,343 shares changing hands.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen downgraded Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $255.00 price target (down previously from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Constellation Brands news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,725,683.76. This represents a 50.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.37, for a total value of $28,908,439.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 431,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,638,157.73. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,956 shares of company stock worth $46,058,091 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Constellation Brands

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of STZ. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 284,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,241,000 after purchasing an additional 5,111 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 51.5% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,957,000 after buying an additional 4,949 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 1st quarter worth $282,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 3.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.24 billion, a PE ratio of 78.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $242.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.27.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.74%.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

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.