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Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 13th, 2026

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV – Free Report) by 51.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,305,441 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,313,628 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.10% of Ambev worth $47,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABEV. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Ambev during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,399,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,591,000 after purchasing an additional 922,566 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ambev by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,000,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,650,000 after purchasing an additional 582,153 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of Ambev during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ambev during the first quarter worth about $264,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling In related news, Director Ricardo Manuel Frangat Moreira sold 468,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total transaction of $1,441,563.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,240,000. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes ABEV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group set a $2.85 target price on Ambev in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ambev in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Ambev from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ambev presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.08.

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Ambev Trading Down 0.4% NYSE ABEV opened at $2.83 on Thursday. Ambev S.A. has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $3.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Ambev had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 17.48%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ambev S.A. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.0092 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Ambev’s payout ratio is currently 10.00%.

About Ambev (Free Report)

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.

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5 Cheap Dividend Stocks: Which to Buy NowAmbev NYSE: ABEV reported stronger second-quarter operating performance, led by beer-volume growth, revenue management and margin expansion, while continuing to invest in brand activations tied to the FIFA World Cup.

Chief Executive Officer Carlos Lisboa said total volumes increased 1.4% year over year in the second quarter, with beer volumes rising by the mid-single digits. Net revenue rose 6%, normalized EBITDA increased 9%, and normalized earnings per share grew 24%.

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14 best consumer staples dividend stocksFor the first half, total volumes grew 0.7%, net revenue increased 7%, normalized EBITDA rose 10%, and normalized EPS also advanced 10%. Operating cash flow reached BRL 8 billion, which Lisboa described as one of the company’s highest first-half levels.

Beer Growth, Portfolio Mix and Digital Commerce Lisboa attributed the quarter’s performance to Ambev’s strategy of leading and expanding the beer category, digitizing its ecosystem and optimizing operations. He said beer volumes grew or remained broadly stable in seven of Ambev’s 10 largest markets, while revenue and EBITDA increased across all business units.

3 Reasons Boston Beer Stock Could Finally Hop HigherThe company’s higher-growth beer segments continued to outpace the broader portfolio. Premium volumes rose nearly 20%, while Balanced Choices volumes increased more than 60%. No-alcohol beer grew about 20%, and Michelob ULTRA grew more than 50% across Ambev’s footprint. The brand more than tripled in Brazil and Argentina during the quarter, Lisboa said.

Ambev’s BEES Marketplace also expanded. Marketplace gross merchandise value rose about 60% in both the second quarter and first half, while first-half gross margin expanded 6.7 percentage points to 22%. In Brazil, Marketplace GMV doubled in the first half, primarily driven by third-party sales.

The company said its Zé Delivery platform recorded 16% GMV growth in Brazil, with orders more than doubling on Brazilian national team match days. Premium products represented 35% of beer volumes sold through the platform, while Balanced Choices accounted for roughly 7%.

Brazil Beer Outperforms Industry In Brazil Beer, Ambev reported 5% volume growth, supported by improving industry conditions and market-share gains. Lisboa said the company expanded share for the fourth consecutive quarter, with gains across mainstream, premium, Balanced Choices and beyond-beer categories.

According to the company’s estimates, Brazil’s beer industry was slightly positive during the quarter, though adverse weather offset some incremental World Cup demand. Lisboa said the World Cup contributed an estimated 0.5 to 1 percentage point to industry growth in Brazil.

Premium beer grew in the mid-20% range and reached approximately 25% of Ambev’s Brazilian beer volumes. The company said its premium share reached an all-time high following a year of regained leadership in the segment. Balanced Choices volumes doubled from a year earlier, and no-alcohol volumes grew in the 30% range.

Brazil Beer net revenue increased 9%, EBITDA rose 13%, and EBITDA margin expanded 110 basis points. Beer distribution increased more than 6%, including growth of more than 20% in premium distribution.

Lisboa told analysts that first-half Brazilian beer net revenue per hectoliter rose about 6%, which he said was roughly 50% above inflation. He said the company intends to maintain a revenue-management approach that protects profitability while preserving consumer accessibility to the category.

Non-Alcoholic Beverages, International Markets Brazil non-alcoholic beverage volumes declined 4.4% in the quarter. Ambev said roughly 30% of the decline reflected its decision to exit a lower-return fast-food channel. CFO and Investor Relations Officer Guilherme Fleury said the effect of the channel exit would continue to be lapped through the remainder of 2026.

Lisboa said the recovery in Brazil NAB had taken longer than expected, though market share improved sequentially and approached historical levels by the end of the quarter as price-relativity pressure eased. The business delivered double-digit EBITDA growth and more than 300 basis points of margin expansion.

Elsewhere, Bolivia experienced a double-digit volume decline as social unrest and road blockades disrupted mobility and logistics. Lisboa said conditions have since normalized. Argentina was a highlight, with beer volumes growing by the low double digits, supported by market-share momentum, industry improvement and World Cup-related demand.

The Dominican Republic delivered mid-single-digit volume growth despite adverse weather in April, while first-half beer volumes rose by the high single digits. Canada reported low-single-digit top-line growth and low- to mid-single-digit EBITDA growth, with market-share gains in beer and beyond beer despite a declining industry.

Margins, Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns Normalized EBITDA rose 8.9% to BRL 6.4 billion in the second quarter, with EBITDA margin expanding 80 basis points. Consolidated cash cost of goods sold per hectoliter, excluding Marketplace, increased 2.2%, supported by productivity and operating efficiencies.

Cash selling, general and administrative expenses increased 10.7%, largely because of higher sales and marketing spending associated with World Cup activations. Distribution costs also rose, reflecting volume performance and one-time restructuring expenses in Argentina.

Net financial expenses totaled BRL 486 million, down 50% from the prior year. Fleury cited positive non-cash foreign-currency effects, including the conversion of hard-currency holdings after Bolivia’s late-June currency devaluation. He cautioned that the devaluation is expected to gradually create negative translation effects on financial and operating results.

Normalized and reported net income were each about BRL 3.5 billion. Normalized EPS was BRL 0.22, up 24.2% year over year.

First-half cash flow from operations totaled BRL 7.9 billion, up BRL 3.6 billion from a year earlier. The company said it had executed approximately 95% of its 208 million-share repurchase program announced in October, representing roughly BRL 3.2 billion in cash disbursements through July. It also cited BRL 4.2 billion in 2025 interest-on-capital payments and BRL 1.8 billion in 2026 interest-on-capital declarations, for total announced shareholder returns of BRL 5.9 billion on a pre-tax cash basis.

About Ambev (NYSE:ABEV)Ambev NYSE: ABEV is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company's core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.

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Should You Invest $1,000 in Ambev Right Now?Before you consider Ambev, you'll want to hear this.

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Ambev (ABEV - Free Report) appears an attractive pick, as it has been recently upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). This rating change essentially reflects an upward trend in earnings estimates -- one of the most powerful forces impacting stock prices.

A company's changing earnings picture is at the core of the Zacks rating. The system tracks the Zacks Consensus Estimate -- the consensus measure of EPS estimates from the sell-side analysts covering the stock -- for the current and following years.

Individual investors often find it hard to make decisions based on rating upgrades by Wall Street analysts, since these are mostly driven by subjective factors that are hard to see and measure in real time. In these situations, the Zacks rating system comes in handy because of the power of a changing earnings picture in determining near-term stock price movements.

As such, the Zacks rating upgrade for Ambev is essentially a positive comment on its earnings outlook that could have a favorable impact on its stock price.

Most Powerful Force Impacting Stock PricesThe change in a company's future earnings potential, as reflected in earnings estimate revisions, and the near-term price movement of its stock are proven to be strongly correlated. That's partly because of the influence of institutional investors that use earnings and earnings estimates for calculating the fair value of a company's shares. An increase or decrease in earnings estimates in their valuation models simply results in higher or lower fair value for a stock, and institutional investors typically buy or sell it. Their bulk investment action then leads to price movement for the stock.

For Ambev, rising earnings estimates and the consequent rating upgrade fundamentally mean an improvement in the company's underlying business. And investors' appreciation of this improving business trend should push the stock higher.

Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate RevisionsAs empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock movements, tracking such revisions for making an investment decision could be truly rewarding. Here is where the tried-and-tested Zacks Rank stock-rating system plays an important role, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions.

The Zacks Rank stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record, with Zacks Rank #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

Earnings Estimate Revisions for AmbevThis beverage company is expected to earn $0.21 per share for the fiscal year ending December 2026, which represents no year-over-year change.

Analysts have been steadily raising their estimates for Ambev. Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company has increased 11.7%.

Bottom LineUnlike the overly optimistic Wall Street analysts whose rating systems tend to be weighted toward favorable recommendations, the Zacks rating system maintains an equal proportion of "buy" and "sell" ratings for its entire universe of more than 4,000 stocks at any point in time. Irrespective of market conditions, only the top 5% of the Zacks-covered stocks get a "Strong Buy" rating and the next 15% get a "Buy" rating. So, the placement of a stock in the top 20% of the Zacks-covered stocks indicates its superior earnings estimate revision feature, making it a solid candidate for producing market-beating returns in the near term.

You can learn more about the Zacks Rank here >>>

The upgrade of Ambev to a Zacks Rank #2 positions it in the top 20% of the Zacks-covered stocks in terms of estimate revisions, implying that the stock might move higher in the near term.

Ambev is rated a Buy, supported by strong Q1 results, robust free cash flow, and a resilient balance sheet with minimal long-term debt. ABEV's Q1 net revenue rose 8.1% despite flat volumes, with a 33.6% Normalized EBITDA margin and the strongest Q1 operating cash flow in a decade. Macroeconomic tailwinds, including Brazil's switch to rate cuts and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, offer stabilization and recovery potential, though consumer and cost pressures remain key risks.

Sao Paulo, Brazil--(Newsfile Corp. - April 6, 2026) - Ambev S.A. (B3: ABEV3) (NYSE: ABEV) announces that the Company's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025 was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - SEC (www.sec.gov) on March 03, 2026 and is available on the Company's website (ri.ambev.com.br) and also on the Company's page on SEC's database (www.sec.gov/edgar/). ADR holders may receive a hard copy of the Company's complete audited financial statements contained in the Form 20-F free of charge, upon request.

To access the full document, please access the following link: click here.

Ambev S.A.
Investor Relations Department
Contact e-mail: [email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/291345

Source: AMBEV S.A.

Ready to Announce with Confidence? Send us a message and a member of our TMX Newsfile team will contact you to discuss your needs.

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Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Ambev (ABEV - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Ambev is one of 173 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #16 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Ambev is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABEV's full-year earnings has moved 5.6% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that ABEV has returned about 27.1% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of 3.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Ambev is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Darling Ingredients (DAR - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 65.6%.

Over the past three months, Darling Ingredients' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 14.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Ambev belongs to the Beverages - Alcohol industry, which includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #194 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 13.4% so far this year, meaning that ABEV is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Darling Ingredients, however, belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 41-stock industry is ranked #201. The industry has moved -3.6% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Ambev and Darling Ingredients as they could maintain their solid performance.

Investors looking for stocks in the Beverages - Alcohol sector might want to consider either Ambev (ABEV - Free Report) or Boston Beer (SAM - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Ambev has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Boston Beer has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ABEV likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SAM has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

ABEV currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.05, while SAM has a forward P/E of 24.25. We also note that ABEV has a PEG ratio of 2.19. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. SAM currently has a PEG ratio of 2.68.

Another notable valuation metric for ABEV is its P/B ratio of 3.02. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, SAM has a P/B of 3.03.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ABEV's Value grade of B and SAM's Value grade of C.

ABEV has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than SAM, so it seems like value investors will conclude that ABEV is the superior option right now.

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Ambev S.A. (ABEV) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Ambev is rated a 'Hold' due to valuation concerns and parent company risks, despite recent share price outperformance. ABEV trades near 19x P/E, reflecting optimism on premiumization and market dominance, but lacks volume growth and faces margin pressure. Parent AB InBev's control introduces risks of cash extraction, fee hikes, and limited autonomy, especially given AB InBev's high debt load.

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Ambev (ABEV +2.41%), a Latin American beverage producer, edged up 0.30% on Friday to finish at $3.29, extending the week’s gains. It reported better-than-expected earnings early in the week, and investors are watching how beer demand and an expanded product range can shape its earnings power.

Trading volume reached 72.4 million shares, coming in 193% above its three-month average of 24.7 million shares. Ambev IPO'd in 1997 and has grown 631% since going public.

How the markets moved todayThe S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.79%) advanced 0.76% to finish Friday at 7,393, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +1.07%) gained 1.71% to close at 26,247. Among beverage and beer industry peers, Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD +1.81%) closed up 1.03% at $79.89, while Diageo (DEO +2.26%) gained 1.04% to end at $84.30 as investors assessed recent volume trends.

What this means for investorsAmbev soared by more than 13% this week after strong quarterly results on Tuesday beat expectations. Growth in beer revenues from Central America and the Caribbean offset weaker figures from Brazil and South America. Its no-alcohol beers are also gaining traction in Brazil, which could help it meet changing consumer habits.

The upcoming World Cup will drive further demand and give Ambev an opportunity to build on its Q1 momentum. Following the results, Barclays reiterated its “Hold” rating on the stock, but increased its price target from $2.50 to $3.50.

Emma Newbery has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Barclays Plc and Diageo Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Ambev (ABEV - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Staples peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Ambev is one of 171 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #15 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Ambev is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABEV's full-year earnings has moved 11.7% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, ABEV has returned 27.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of 7.8% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Ambev is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Chefs' Warehouse (CHEF - Free Report) . The stock has returned 23.7% year-to-date.

For Chefs' Warehouse, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Ambev is a member of the Beverages - Alcohol industry, which includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #159 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 16.2% so far this year, so ABEV is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Chefs' Warehouse falls under the Food - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 40 stocks and is ranked #205. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -6.3%.

Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on Ambev and Chefs' Warehouse as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

Growth stocks are attractive to many investors, as above-average financial growth helps these stocks easily grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock.

By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it could lead to significant loss.

However, the task of finding cutting-edge growth stocks is made easy with the help of the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects.

Ambev (ABEV - Free Report) is one such stock that our proprietary system currently recommends. The company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.

Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And for stocks that have a combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), returns are even better.

While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this beverage company is a great growth pick right now, we have highlighted three of the most important factors below:

Earnings GrowthArguably nothing is more important than earnings growth, as surging profit levels is what most investors are after. For growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is highly preferable, as it is often perceived as an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.

While the historical EPS growth rate for Ambev is 0.6%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 14.8% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 2.8%.

Impressive Asset Utilization RatioAsset utilization ratio -- also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio -- is often overlooked by investors, but it is an important indicator in growth investing. This metric shows how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.

Right now, Ambev has an S/TA ratio of 0.62, which means that the company gets $0.62 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.48, it can be said that the company is more efficient.

While the level of efficiency in generating sales matters a lot, so does the sales growth of a company. And Ambev is well positioned from a sales growth perspective too. The company's sales are expected to grow 19.1% this year versus the industry average of 0%.

Promising Earnings Estimate RevisionsSuperiority of a stock in terms of the metrics outlined above can be further validated by looking at the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is of course favorable here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

The current-year earnings estimates for Ambev have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 8.8% over the past month.

Bottom LineAmbev has not only earned a Growth Score of B based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #2 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.

You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

This combination indicates that Ambev is a potential outperformer and a solid choice for growth investors.

For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Ambev (ABEV - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Staples peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Ambev is one of 173 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #12 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Ambev is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABEV's full-year earnings has moved 11.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, ABEV has returned 24.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have gained about 5.1% on average. This means that Ambev is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Chefs' Warehouse (CHEF - Free Report) . The stock is up 29.8% year-to-date.

In Chefs' Warehouse's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 9.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Ambev is a member of the Beverages - Alcohol industry, which includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #158 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 12% so far this year, so ABEV is performing better in this area.

Chefs' Warehouse, however, belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 40-stock industry is ranked #206. The industry has moved -5.7% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on Ambev and Chefs' Warehouse as they attempt to continue their solid performance.