Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) Short Interest Up 31.8% in March

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,310,000 shares, an increase of 31.8% from the March 15th total of 3,270,000 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BUD. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 10,579 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC raised its position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 1,621 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,748 shares of the consumer goods maker’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 5.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on BUD shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. BNP Paribas downgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.70.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Stock Performance

Shares of BUD stock opened at $58.67 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.77. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a one year low of $51.66 and a one year high of $66.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The consumer goods maker reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.34 billion. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 8.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV will post 3.37 earnings per share 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.