Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of JBS Call Options (NYSE:JBS)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors bought 2,594 JBS call options, about 60% above the typical volume of 1,619 contracts.
• Weak recent performance: JBS shares fell to $10.84, near their 52-week low, and the company’s latest earnings of $0.20 per share missed analyst expectations of $0.32 despite 13.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Analyst outlook remains positive overall: JBS has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $18.42, although several analysts recently lowered their targets; the CFO also sold 183,501 shares at an average price of $13.85.

Jbs N.V. (NYSE:JBS - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 2,594 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 60% compared to the typical volume of 1,619 call options.

JBS Stock Performance

NYSE:JBS traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $10.84. The stock had a trading volume of 2,241,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,672,750. JBS has a 1-year low of $10.82 and a 1-year high of $18.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $13.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of -1.67.

JBS (NYSE:JBS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $23.90 billion for the quarter. JBS had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 1.22%.JBS's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that JBS will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Guilherme Cavalcanti sold 183,501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.85, for a total transaction of $2,541,488.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of JBS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBS. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of JBS by 117.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,687,775 shares of the company's stock worth $138,072,000 after buying an additional 4,147,304 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its stake in JBS by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 4,622,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,656,000 after purchasing an additional 388,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in JBS by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,782,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,982,000 after purchasing an additional 289,771 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP bought a new stake in JBS in the 4th quarter valued at $24,209,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in JBS in the 2nd quarter worth $21,866,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on JBS shares. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of JBS from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of JBS from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of JBS from $18.00 to $17.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded JBS from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on JBS from $17.00 to $17.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.42.

JBS Company Profile

JBS SA is a Brazil-based food company focused on the processing and production of animal protein and prepared foods. Its operations include beef, pork, poultry, and lamb processing, as well as the manufacture of value-added products such as frozen and prepared meals, bacon, sausages, deli meats, and other convenience foods. The company also produces leather and other related byproducts.

Founded in 1953 by José Batista Sobrinho in Anápolis, Brazil, JBS has grown from a local cattle-slaughtering business into a multinational food company.

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