Davis Selected Advisers Buys 1,598,896 Shares of Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN)

Key Points

• Davis Selected Advisers increased its stake in Tyson Foods by 51.9%, acquiring an additional 1,598,896 shares to reach a total of 4,679,582 shares, making it approximately 1.7% of their portfolio.
• Tyson Foods reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing expectations of $0.72 and showing a 4.0% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company authorized a stock buyback plan for up to 43,000,000 shares, indicating the board believes its stock is undervalued.

Davis Selected Advisers increased its stake in Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN - Free Report) by 51.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,679,582 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,598,896 shares during the quarter. Tyson Foods makes up approximately 1.7% of Davis Selected Advisers' investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Davis Selected Advisers owned approximately 1.31% of Tyson Foods worth $298,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TSN. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Tyson Foods by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 86,140 shares of the company's stock worth $4,948,000 after purchasing an additional 6,634 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Tyson Foods by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 143,872 shares of the company's stock worth $8,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,598 shares during the period. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Tyson Foods by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 29,357 shares of the company's stock worth $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 3,928 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new position in Tyson Foods in the 4th quarter worth $279,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Tyson Foods by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 271,452 shares of the company's stock worth $15,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. 67.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Tyson Foods Price Performance

Shares of Tyson Foods stock traded up $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.05. 2,497,277 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,803,840. The company has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Tyson Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.85 and a 52-week high of $66.88.

Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $13.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.54 billion. Tyson Foods had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 1.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Tyson Foods, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

Tyson Foods declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 7th that allows the company to repurchase 43,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Tyson Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Tyson Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens decreased their target price on Tyson Foods from $61.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Tyson Foods in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Tyson Foods from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JP Morgan Cazenove cut their price target on Tyson Foods from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Tyson Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tyson Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.33.

About Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Beef, Pork, Chicken, and Prepared Foods. The company processes live fed cattle and hogs; fabricates dressed beef and pork carcasses into primal and sub-primal meat cuts, as well as case ready beef and pork, and fully cooked meats; raises and processes chickens into fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken products, including breaded chicken strips, nuggets, patties, and other ready-to-fix or fully cooked chicken parts; and supplies poultry breeding stock.