BRF (NYSE:BRFS) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

BRF (NYSE:BRFS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on BRFS. Citigroup raised shares of BRF from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $3.50 price objective (down previously from $5.00) on shares of BRF in a report on Monday, May 19th.

BRF Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:BRFS traded down $0.08 on Thursday, reaching $3.63. 1,922,629 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,665,948. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. BRF has a 1-year low of $2.99 and a 1-year high of $4.87. The company's 50 day moving average is $3.56 and its 200-day moving average is $3.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.44.

BRF (NYSE:BRFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.78 billion. BRF had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 6.52%. Equities research analysts anticipate that BRF will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BRF

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BRF by 137.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,669,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,743,000 after purchasing an additional 966,539 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of BRF by 26.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,634,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,453 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BRF during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in BRF by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 933,172 shares of the company's stock worth $3,210,000 after buying an additional 143,919 shares during the period. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new position in BRF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $155,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.76% of the company's stock.

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.