Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,430,000 shares, a growth of 83.8% from the February 13th total of 2,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

BRF Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRFS traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,332,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,537,489. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.90. BRF has a twelve month low of $2.99 and a twelve month high of $4.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.52 and a 200 day moving average of $4.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

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

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Institutional Trading of BRF

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRFS. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in BRF by 127.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,871 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 8,882 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in BRF during the third quarter valued at $78,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 119,346 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in BRF by 660.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in BRF by 99.6% during the third 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. 4.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BRFS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BRF from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of BRF from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $10.70.

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.