Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Cut to “Neutral” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler cut shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $200.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $245.00.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on STZ. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com lowered Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $280.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.29.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Constellation Brands stock opened at $172.79 on Monday. Constellation Brands has a fifty-two week low of $166.02 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The company has a market capitalization of $31.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.45, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $212.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.53 billion. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands will post 13.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.60%.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In related news, Director William T. Giles acquired 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $186.39 per share, for a total transaction of $186,390.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. The trade was a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.58, for a total transaction of $6,089,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,771,800.92. The trade was a 77.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,746 shares of company stock valued at $15,017,097. Corporate insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of STZ. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Constellation Brands by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $236,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 6,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the period. 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.