5 Best Liquor Stocks to Buy Now

4. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) is a fast-growing beer brewing company with a headcount of over 2,500 employees.

In Q2 2022 results, Chairman and Founder Jim Koch highlighted that The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) has a strong balance sheet, the ability to grow brands, and innovation capabilities to sustain long-term growth. Following the quarterly results, Kaumil Gajrawala at Credit Suisse gave The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) stock an Outperform rating with a target price of $385 on July 22. The analyst highlighted that the company is recovering from the weakness of the hard seltzer market and boosting efforts in other segments.

Over 50% of The Boston Beer Company, Inc.’s (NYSE:SAM) outstanding shares are owned by institutional investors. Analysts believe this is indicative of the company’s credibility and the investors’ belief in the long-term outperformance of the stock.

Here’s what Artisan Partners said about The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“We ended our campaigns in Boston Beer Company. Boston Beer Company sells a focused portfolio of alcoholic beverage brands. In recent years, the company has emerged as one of the leaders in the hard seltzer category, which has grown over 150% in each of the past three years (2018-2020). Boston Beer’s Truly brand, the second-largest seller of hard seltzer, has benefited from this growth and was core to our investment thesis. However, the hard seltzer category’s growth has recently slowed to single digits, falling short of high investor expectations and pressuring Boston Beer’s earnings upside. Truly’s growth was core to our investment thesis, and a recovery is uncertain; thus, we ended our investment campaign.”