Short Interest in Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) Rises By 19.5%

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS - Get Free Report) was the recipient 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 short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of BRF from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BRF currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.70.

BRF Stock Up 0.7 %

BRFS stock traded up $0.03 on Monday, hitting $3.76. 3,000,111 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,765,155. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.25. BRF has a 12-month low of $2.45 and a 12-month high of $4.87. The stock has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.45.

BRF Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.0217 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. BRF's payout ratio is 20.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BRF

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BRF during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BRF in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of BRF during the second quarter worth about $58,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 8,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in BRF by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 17,397 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the period. 4.76% of the stock is 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.