Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) Short Interest Update

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,770,000 shares, a growth of 20.2% from the November 30th total of 3,970,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

BRF Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of BRFS stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $4.05. 2,628,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,878,002. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.89. BRF has a 52 week low of $2.45 and a 52 week high of $4.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

BRF Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BRF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BRFS. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BRF in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of BRF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. 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 valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 8,882 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in BRF during the second quarter worth about $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

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.