Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) Position Boosted by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Tyson Foods by 94.8% during the 1st quarter, owning 29,935 shares valued at approximately $1.91 million.
• Tyson Foods reported earnings of $0.91 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.19 and demonstrating a 4.0% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has authorized a share buyback program permitting the repurchase of up to 43 million shares, reflecting a belief that its shares are currently undervalued.

AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN - Free Report) by 94.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,935 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,565 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Tyson Foods were worth $1,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Tyson Foods by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,961,408 shares of the company's stock worth $2,294,697,000 after buying an additional 247,051 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tyson Foods by 10.6% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 13,264,052 shares of the company's stock worth $846,379,000 after buying an additional 1,271,750 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Tyson Foods by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,700,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,014,000 after buying an additional 118,402 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Tyson Foods by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 4,679,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $298,604,000 after buying an additional 1,598,896 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tyson Foods by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,510,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,181,000 after buying an additional 53,535 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.00% of the company's stock.

Tyson Foods Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of TSN stock traded down $1.38 on Thursday, reaching $56.31. 2,391,998 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,729,895. Tyson Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.85 and a 1-year high of $66.88. The stock has a market cap of $20.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.57.

Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. Tyson Foods had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 1.45%. The firm had revenue of $13.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Tyson Foods, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Tyson Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.91%.

Tyson Foods declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, August 7th that permits the company to repurchase 43,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on TSN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Tyson Foods in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Bernstein Bank lowered Tyson Foods to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JP Morgan Cazenove decreased their price target on Tyson Foods from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Tyson Foods from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Tyson Foods from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.