Entropy Technologies LP Lowers Stock Position in Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP significantly reduced its holdings in Tyson Foods by 49.8%, ending the quarter with 13,264 shares valued at $846,000.
• Research firms have mixed opinions on Tyson Foods, with price targets ranging from $58.00 to $67.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Tyson Foods announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share and initiated a share buyback plan allowing the repurchase of up to 43 million shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Entropy Technologies LP cut its holdings in shares of Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN - Free Report) by 49.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,264 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,148 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Tyson Foods were worth $846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC grew its position in Tyson Foods by 3.9% during the first quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 20,647 shares of the company's stock worth $1,317,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Tyson Foods by 54.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,262 shares of the company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Tyson Foods by 23.0% in the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,526 shares of the company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Tyson Foods by 11.6% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company's stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Tyson Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. 67.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tyson Foods Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:TSN traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $56.31. The company had a trading volume of 2,391,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,744,426. The company has a market capitalization of $20.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.56. Tyson Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.85 and a 52 week high of $66.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. The business 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Tyson Foods, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tyson Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Tyson Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.91%.

Tyson Foods declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 7th that permits the company to buyback 43,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Tyson Foods from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Tyson Foods from $61.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Bernstein Bank cut shares of Tyson Foods to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JP Morgan Cazenove cut their target price on shares of Tyson Foods from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Tyson Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.33.

Tyson Foods Company Profile

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.