BRF (NYSE:BRFS) Stock Price Down 5.8% – Time to Sell?

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS)’s stock price fell 5.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $4.39 and last traded at $4.40. 2,679,701 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 2,877,548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of BRF from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.70.

BRF Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.89.

BRF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.0217 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. BRF’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BRF

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRFS. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of BRF by 534.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,623,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,816,000 after acquiring an additional 3,894,533 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in BRF by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,692,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,170,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056,054 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in BRF by 660.0% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,208,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,373 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in BRF in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,133,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of BRF in the 2nd quarter valued at $927,000. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BRF

BRF SA raises, produces, and slaughters poultry and pork for processing, production, and sale of fresh meat, processed products, pasta, margarine, pet food, and other products. The company provides frozen whole and cut chicken, frozen pork, and turkey, and halal products for Islamic markets; processed foods, such as marinated, frozen, seasoned whole, and cut chicken, roosters, sausages, ham products, bologna, frankfurters, salamis, bacons, cold meats, and other smoked products; and hamburgers, steaks, breaded meat products, kibbeh, and meatballs, as well as chicken sausages, hot dogs, and chicken bologna.