Constellation Brands’ (STZ) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $280.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $282.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $261.00 price target for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $298.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Constellation Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.75.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 17.2 %

STZ opened at $181.57 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.75. Constellation Brands has a 12 month low of $179.55 and a 12 month high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.08). The firm 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 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Wildstar Partners Llc sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,736,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $418,589,044. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Sands sold 119,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 431,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,638,157.73. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 188,446 shares of company stock worth $45,687,281. 12.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Constellation Brands

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 4.4% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.