Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $261.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on STZ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $308.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.16.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Constellation Brands stock opened at $235.97 on Monday. Constellation Brands has a fifty-two week low of $224.76 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $42.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Constellation Brands 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.74%.

Insider Activity at Constellation Brands

In other Constellation Brands news, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total transaction of $1,761,744.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,725,683.76. The trade was a 50.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,638,157.73. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Constellation Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 4.4% during the first 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. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 51.5% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the first quarter valued at $282,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.