Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) – Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group lowered their FY2019 EPS estimates for Constellation Brands in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst K. Grundy now anticipates that the company will earn $9.20 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $9.25. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a “Buy” rating and a $289.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Constellation Brands’ FY2020 earnings at $9.53 EPS and FY2021 earnings at $11.07 EPS.
A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on STZ. Morgan Stanley set a $259.00 price objective on Constellation Brands and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Constellation Brands from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 10th. Zacks Investment Research raised Constellation Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 16th. ValuEngine raised Constellation Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Constellation Brands from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Constellation Brands has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.09.
Shares of STZ stock opened at $159.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Constellation Brands has a twelve month low of $150.37 and a twelve month high of $236.62. The company has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38.
Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 9th. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.33. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 35.27%. The business had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 11th. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is presently 10.67%.
In other news, VP Thomas Michael Kane sold 4,419 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.83, for a total transaction of $989,104.77. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,331.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Sands sold 136,547 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.62, for a total value of $30,534,640.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 737,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,943,677.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 578,723 shares of company stock worth $129,438,449 in the last three months. 15.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 0.4% in the third quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 21,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.2% in the third quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. now owns 8,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 132.0% in the fourth quarter. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Tower View Investment Management & Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower View Investment Management & Research LLC now owns 8,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 49.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 787 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 72.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Constellation Brands
Constellation Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, imports, and markets beer, wine, and spirits in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. The company sells wine across various categories, including table wine, sparkling wine, and dessert wine. It provides beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, Modelo Chelada, Pacifico, and Victoria brands, as well as Funky Buddha, Obregon Brewery, and Ballast Point brands.
