Financial Review: Compania Cervecerias Unidas (CCU) versus The Competition

Compania Cervecerias Unidas (NYSE:CCU) is one of 30 public companies in the “BEVERAGES – ALCOH” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Compania Cervecerias Unidas to related businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

24.1% of Compania Cervecerias Unidas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.9% of shares of all “BEVERAGES – ALCOH” companies are owned by institutional investors. 8.4% of Compania Cervecerias Unidas shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.0% of shares of all “BEVERAGES – ALCOH” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Compania Cervecerias Unidas has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Compania Cervecerias Unidas’ competitors have a beta of 1.70, meaning that their average share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Compania Cervecerias Unidas and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Compania Cervecerias Unidas	2	1	0	0	1.33
Compania Cervecerias Unidas Competitors	358	1459	1455	59	2.36

Compania Cervecerias Unidas currently has a consensus price target of $9.70, indicating a potential downside of 23.77%. As a group, “BEVERAGES – ALCOH” companies have a potential upside of 36.87%. Given Compania Cervecerias Unidas’ competitors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Compania Cervecerias Unidas has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Profitability

This table compares Compania Cervecerias Unidas and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Compania Cervecerias Unidas	5.56%	8.83%	3.73%
Compania Cervecerias Unidas Competitors	5.15%	7.26%	4.06%

Dividends

Compania Cervecerias Unidas pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Compania Cervecerias Unidas pays out 27.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “BEVERAGES – ALCOH” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.6% and pay out 62.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Compania Cervecerias Unidas and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Compania Cervecerias Unidas	$3.08 billion	$177.04 million	13.54
Compania Cervecerias Unidas Competitors	$9.48 billion	$869.15 million	7.42

Compania Cervecerias Unidas’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Compania Cervecerias Unidas. Compania Cervecerias Unidas is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Compania Cervecerias Unidas competitors beat Compania Cervecerias Unidas on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

Compania Cervecerias Unidas Company Profile

Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. 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. The company also produces and sells non-alcoholic beverages, including carbonated soft drinks, nectars and juices, sports and energy drinks, and ice tea; and mineral, purified, and flavored bottled water, as well as ready-to-mix products with instant powder drinks. In addition, it is involved in the production and distribution of pisco, cocktails, rum, flavored alcoholic beverages, gin, and cider. The company serves small and medium-sized retail outlets; retail establishments, such as restaurants, hotels, and bars; wholesalers; and supermarket chains. It also exports its products to Europe, Latin America, the United States, Canada, Asia, Oceania, and internationally. The company was founded in 1850 and is based in Santiago, Chile. Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. is a subsidiary of Inversiones y Rentas S.A.