Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) Short Interest Up 62.3% in November

Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,440,000 shares, an increase of 62.3% from the October 31st total of 2,120,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $265.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $298.00 price objective on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Brands from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Constellation Brands from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.16.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $242.99, for a total value of $8,768,537.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,898,045.58. The trade was a 69.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William A. Newlands sold 7,426 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 7,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,725,683.76. This trade represents a 50.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,956 shares of company stock valued at $46,058,091 in the last 90 days. 12.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Constellation Brands by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,048,000 after acquiring an additional 402,211 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 1.2% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,853,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,515,000 after purchasing an additional 21,454 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 5.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,335,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,717,000 after purchasing an additional 72,637 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands by 31.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,002,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,865,000 after buying an additional 241,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Constellation Brands by 50.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 975,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,099,000 after buying an additional 328,881 shares in the last quarter. 77.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Constellation Brands Stock Up 1.0 %

STZ stock opened at $235.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $241.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.92. The company has a market cap of $42.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.25. Constellation Brands has a fifty-two week low of $224.76 and a fifty-two week high of $274.87.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 3rd. The company reported $4.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.08 by $0.24. Constellation Brands had a return on equity of 25.34% and a net margin of 5.29%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.70 earnings per share. Constellation Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Constellation Brands will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $1.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Constellation Brands’s payout ratio is 130.74%.

About Constellation Brands

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.