BRF (NYSE:BRFS) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.11). BRF had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion.

BRF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a — dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.0217 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. BRF’s payout ratio is 18.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised BRF from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut BRF from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.70.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BRF

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRFS. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of BRF by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 7,682,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,016 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in BRF by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,975,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,251,000 after purchasing an additional 687,243 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in BRF by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,454,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996,890 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in BRF in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,258,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of BRF by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,217,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,025,000 after buying an additional 91,268 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

BRF Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.18. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.86.

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.