Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,100,000 shares, a growth of 15.2% from the September 30th total of 2,690,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 39.7% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 591 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,381 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 50.7% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 550 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 1.8% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,268 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 20.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on BUD shares. Evercore ISI raised Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays raised shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup raised shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from $68.50 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.00.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Stock Performance

Shares of BUD stock traded down $3.59 on Thursday, reaching $59.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,185,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,312. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.69. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a 1 year low of $55.73 and a 1 year high of $67.49. The stock has a market cap of $106.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.11.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The consumer goods maker reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 9.89%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Company Profile

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, exports, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands.