Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (NYSE:CCU) Short Interest Up 10.3% in November

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (NYSE:CCU) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the November 15th total of 960,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 215,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Compañía Cervecerías Unidas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.03.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Price Performance

CCU stock opened at $11.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.32. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas has a one year low of $10.00 and a one year high of $13.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.90.

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 1st were paid a $0.1498 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Compañía Cervecerías Unidas’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.10. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas’s payout ratio is presently 38.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 1.2% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 15,741,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,143,000 after buying an additional 184,970 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 last quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 33.9% in the third 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. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas in the second quarter worth $2,121,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Compañía Cervecerías Unidas by 82.0% during the second 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.