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.

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 return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion.

BRF Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRFS has been the topic of a number of recent research 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 cut BRF from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BRF currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.70.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in BRF during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BRF in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BRF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BRF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in BRF by 127.1% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 8,882 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

BRF Stock Down 5.3 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.75 and a two-hundred day moving average 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.