BRF (NYSE:BRFS) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.19, but opened at $3.31. BRF shares last traded at $3.35, with a volume of 214,973 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of BRF from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of BRF from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.70.

BRF Trading Down 0.7 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.49 and a 200 day moving average of $4.04. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.90. 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 (NYSE:BRFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.11). BRF had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 6.52%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. On average, analysts predict that Brf S.A. will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Institutional Trading of BRF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRFS. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BRF by 97.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 241,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 119,346 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in BRF by 660.0% in 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. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in BRF by 99.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 106,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 53,039 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in BRF by 345.9% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 107,749 shares of the company's stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 83,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in shares of BRF during the third quarter valued at about $186,000. 4.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.