BRF (NYSE:BRFS) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. BRF had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 19.66%.

BRF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.0217 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a yield of 1.6%. BRF's payout ratio is 22.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BRFS. Citigroup raised BRF from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of BRF from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BRF has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.70.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On BRF

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of BRF by 15.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 77,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 10,361 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of BRF by 127.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in BRF in the 3rd quarter worth about $78,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in BRF by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 241,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,054,000 after buying an additional 119,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of BRF by 660.0% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,208,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,373 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.76% of the company's stock.

BRF Stock Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 7.21, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.86. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.45.

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.