Needham & Company LLC Has Lowered Expectations for Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Stock Price

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $240.00 to $215.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.04% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut shares of Constellation Brands from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup downgraded Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.18.

Constellation Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:STZ opened at $183.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $177.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.99. Constellation Brands has a fifty-two week low of $160.46 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Constellation Brands will post 13.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Constellation Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STZ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,534,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,969 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,755,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,155,946,000 after purchasing an additional 324,690 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after purchasing an additional 402,211 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in Constellation Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $1,242,976,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Constellation Brands by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,204,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,844,000 after buying an additional 63,323 shares during 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.