Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Free Report) in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on STZ. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $309.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen cut shares of Constellation Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $261.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.70.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

Shares of STZ traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $239.00. 1,701,897 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,221,266. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Constellation Brands has a 52-week low of $224.76 and a 52-week high of $274.87. The company's 50-day moving average price is $240.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.35. The company has a market cap of $43.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.90.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.08 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 25.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.70 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Constellation Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.74%.

Insider Transactions at Constellation Brands

In other news, EVP James A. Jr. Sabia sold 36,086 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,898,045.58. The trade was a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of Constellation Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $1,761,744.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,725,683.76. This represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.19% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Constellation Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 568.4% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 30,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 25,512 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 318.8% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Constellation Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,132,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 30,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,772,000 after purchasing an additional 6,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 39,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.34% of the company's stock.

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.