Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (NYSE:CCU) Sees Large Volume Increase - Time to Buy?

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (NYSE:CCU - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 82,738 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the previous session's volume of 163,123 shares.The stock last traded at $11.67 and had previously closed at $11.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CCU shares. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from $10.50 to $9.40 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.03.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $11.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.26.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 1st were given a $0.1498 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Compañía Cervecerías Unidas's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.10. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas's payout ratio is 38.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,892,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,006,000 after acquiring an additional 39,971 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 31,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 13,668 shares in the last quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,590,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,495,000 after purchasing an additional 402,593 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 15,741,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,143,000 after purchasing an additional 184,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 82.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 166,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 75,147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.07% of the company's stock.

About Compañía Cervecerías Unidas

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas SA operates as a beverage company in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The company operates through three segments: Chile, International Business, and Wine. It produces and sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer under proprietary and licensed brands, as well as distributes Pernod Ricard products in non-supermarket retail stores.