Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

STZ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (down from $262.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, November 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.14.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Constellation Brands stock opened at $184.32 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.55, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.91. Constellation Brands has a twelve month low of $176.51 and a twelve month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.60%.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total value of $8,768,537.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,898,045.58. This represents a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $159,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,589,044. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,746 shares of company stock valued at $15,017,097 in the last three months. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Constellation Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STZ. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,265,000 after purchasing an additional 876,745 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 worth $128,765,000 after acquiring an additional 497,543 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised 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 worth $1,841,048,000 after acquiring an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 369,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,762,000 after acquiring an additional 147,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 617.3% during the third quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 108,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,929,000 after acquiring an additional 93,273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.34% of the company’s stock.

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.