Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) Short Interest Up 19.5% in January

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,700,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the December 31st total of 4,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BRF

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of BRF during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in BRF during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in BRF during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of BRF by 127.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 8,882 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of BRF by 39.9% during 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 in the last quarter. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BRF Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BRF stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,451,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,842,487. The stock has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.88. BRF has a 12 month low of $2.67 and a 12 month high of $4.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

BRF Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio is 20.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BRFS shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of BRF from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded BRF from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BRF presently has an average 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.