BRF (NYSE:BRFS) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $3.31, but opened at $3.09. BRF shares last traded at $3.15, with a volume of 879,619 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.11). BRF had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion.

BRF Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRFS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of BRF from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.70.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BRF

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning increased its position in BRF by 15.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 77,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 10,361 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in BRF by 39.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of BRF by 127.1% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 8,882 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BRF in the third quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BRF by 97.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 241,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 119,346 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

BRF Stock Down 5.0 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.19. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

BRF Company Profile

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.