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

Citigroup cut shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $200.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $260.00.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on STZ. Argus lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Roth Capital cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.41.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.6 %

STZ stock opened at $177.73 on Thursday. Constellation Brands has a 12 month low of $160.46 and a 12 month high of $274.87. The firm has a market cap of $32.12 billion, a PE ratio of 47.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.08. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The company reported $3.25 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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 108.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Constellation Brands news, Director William T. Giles bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,688.57. The trade was a 215.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Constellation Brands

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STZ. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1,844.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 924,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,265,000 after buying an additional 876,745 shares during the period. Copperleaf Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth $343,000. Grimes & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth $6,099,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,663,000 after buying an additional 6,391 shares during the period. Finally, Southern Style Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the 4th quarter worth $3,074,000. 77.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.