Traders Buy Large Volume of Ambev Put Options (NYSE:ABEV)

Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 7,503 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 327% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,758 put options.

Ambev Stock Performance

Shares of ABEV stock opened at $2.11 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.50. Ambev has a 52 week low of $2.05 and a 52 week high of $3.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.07.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 17.53%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ambev will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ambev

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in shares of Ambev by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 65,003,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,210,000 after purchasing an additional 5,943,974 shares during the last quarter. Seafarer Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Ambev by 29.9% in the first quarter. Seafarer Capital Partners LLC now owns 25,199,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,494,000 after acquiring an additional 5,800,000 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP raised its position in Ambev by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 51,517,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,494,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699,184 shares during the period. Oldfield Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ambev during the 1st quarter worth $12,157,000. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Ambev by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 10,168,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,607,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 8.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABEV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $2.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ambev from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ambev in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.68.

Ambev Company Profile

Ambev SA, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of beer, draft beer, carbonated soft drinks, other non-alcoholic beverages, malt, and food products. It offers beer primarily under the Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Brahva, Budweiser, Bud Light, Beck, Leffe and Hoegaarden, Bucanero, Cristal, Mayabe, Presidente, Presidente Light, Brahma Light, Bohemia, The One, Corona, Modelo Especial, Stella Artois, Quilmes Clásica, Paceña, Taquiña, Huari, Becker, Cusqueña, Michelob Ultra, Busch, Pilsen, Ouro Fino, Banks, Deputy, Patricia, Labatt Blue, Alexander Keith's, and Kokanee brands.