BRF (NYSE:BRFS) Shares Down 4.2% – Should You Sell?

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS)’s share price was down 4.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $3.04 and last traded at $3.05. Approximately 193,560 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 2,531,620 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BRFS shares. Citigroup raised 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 Friday, March 7th. Two research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $10.70.

BRF Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.07. 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 company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.90.

BRF (NYSE:BRFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. BRF had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 6.52%. On average, research analysts forecast that Brf S.A. will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BRF

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

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.