Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Rating Lowered 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 note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $200.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $245.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $201.00 target price (down from $310.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Constellation Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.29.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of STZ stock opened at $172.79 on Monday. Constellation Brands has a 1 year low of $166.02 and a 1 year high of $274.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $212.85 and its 200-day moving average is $232.73. The stock has a market cap of $31.23 billion, a PE ratio of 46.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.75.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced 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). Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 6.27%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Constellation Brands will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Constellation Brands

In related news, Director William T. Giles purchased 1,000 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $186.39 per share, with a total value of $186,390.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,688.57. This trade represents a 215.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total value of $8,768,537.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. This trade represents a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,746 shares of company stock worth $15,017,097 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Grimes & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $6,099,000. Southern Style Financial Inc. bought a new position in Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,074,000. Paloma Partners Management Co grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 568.4% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 30,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 25,512 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 84,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,699,000 after buying an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 318.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 7,752 shares during the period. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.