Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,960,000 shares, an increase of 175.2% from the May 15th total of 4,710,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BRF

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRFS. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BRF by 111.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,792 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd increased its stake in BRF by 912.7% in the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 11,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 10,770 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of BRF during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in BRF in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in BRF by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 19,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 6,589 shares in the last quarter. 4.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BRF Trading Up 1.4%

BRFS opened at $3.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.33. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $2.99 and a fifty-two week high of $4.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3.63 and its 200 day moving average is $3.71.

BRF (NYSE:BRFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. BRF had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.78 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that BRF will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on BRFS shares. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $3.50 target price (down from $5.00) on shares of BRF in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded BRF from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd.

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.