Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Brf S.A. (NYSE:BRFS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,680,000 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the August 15th total of 11,810,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

BRF Price Performance

BRF stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $1.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 899,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,629,391. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1.95 and a 200-day moving average of $1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.10. BRF has a one year low of $1.06 and a one year high of $2.93.

BRF (NYSE:BRFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter. BRF had a negative net margin of 5.10% and a negative return on equity of 25.20%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BRF will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BRF

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd grew its position in shares of BRF by 110.1% during the 2nd quarter. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd now owns 16,983,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,268,000 after buying an additional 8,898,500 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of BRF by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 9,333,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,895,000 after buying an additional 72,611 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BRF by 2,443.7% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,670,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,518,000 after buying an additional 5,447,910 shares in the last quarter. Herr Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of BRF by 958.7% during the 1st quarter. Herr Investment Group LLC now owns 5,293,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,776,000 after buying an additional 4,793,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BRF by 132.8% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,190,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,961,528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut BRF from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on BRF from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 11th. Bank of America raised BRF from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on BRF in a report on Friday, August 4th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered BRF from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.20.

About BRF

BRF SA engages in raising, producing, and slaughtering poultry and pork for processing, production, and sale of fresh meat, processed products, pasta, margarine, pet food, and other products. The company's product portfolio comprises meat products, including frozen whole and cut chicken, frozen pork, and turkey; processed food products, such as marinated, frozen, whole, and cut chicken, roosters, sausages, ham products, bologna, frankfurters, salamis, bacon, cold meats, other smoked products; and frozen processed meats comprising hamburgers, steaks, breaded meat products, kibbeh, and meatballs, as well as chicken sausages, chicken hot dogs, and chicken bologna.