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

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,700,000 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the December 15th total of 4,770,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

BRF Stock Performance

BRF stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3.76. 3,000,111 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,765,155. 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 has a 1 year low of $2.45 and a 1 year high of $4.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.25.

BRF Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.0217 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. BRF’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Trading of BRF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRFS. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BRF during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BRF in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in BRF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of BRF by 127.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 8,882 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BRF by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 17,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares in the last quarter. 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.