BRF (NYSE:BRFS) Shares Up 5.3% - Time to Buy?

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS - Get Free Report) shares were up 5.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $3.26 and last traded at $3.28. Approximately 1,549,062 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 1,975,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BRFS. StockNews.com downgraded BRF from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup upgraded BRF from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.70.

BRF Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.91.

BRF (NYSE:BRFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. BRF had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 6.52%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brf S.A. will post 0.45 EPS for the current year.

Remove Ads

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BRF

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRFS. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BRF in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,042,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BRF in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in BRF during the 4th quarter valued at $9,258,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in BRF by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,121,828 shares of the company's stock worth $8,636,000 after buying an additional 913,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BRF by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 27,106 shares of the company's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 9,709 shares during the last quarter. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.