Sanderson Farms Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.
According to Zacks, “Snderson Farms Inc. is a fully-integrated poultry processing company engaged in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of fresh and frozen chicken products. The company sells ice pack, chill pack and frozen chicken, in whole, cut-up and boneless form, primarily under the Sanderson Farms7 brand name to retailers, distributors, and fast food operators principally in the southeastern, southwestern and western United States. “
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAFM. BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. boosted its stake in Sanderson Farms by 1.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. now owns 517,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,655,000 after buying an additional 6,540 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Sanderson Farms by 15.2% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 326,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,435,000 after buying an additional 42,983 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Sanderson Farms by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 37,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,914,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Sanderson Farms by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 50,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,923,000 after buying an additional 6,917 shares during the period. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sanderson Farms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,379,000.
Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Sanderson Farms from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, May 27th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Sanderson Farms has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.29.
Shares of Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ:SAFM) opened at 86.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion and a PE ratio of 14.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.69. Sanderson Farms has a 12 month low of $64.13 and a 12 month high of $95.98.
Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ:SAFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 26th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.49. The business earned $692.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.61 million. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sanderson Farms will post $6.73 EPS for the current year.
Sanderson Farms, Inc is a poultry processing company. The Company is engaged in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of fresh and frozen chicken, and the preparation, processing, marketing and distribution of processed and prepared chicken items. The Company sells ice pack, chill pack, bulk pack and frozen chicken, in whole, cut-up and boneless form, primarily under the Sanderson Farms brand name to retailers, distributors and casual dining operators principally in the southeastern, southwestern, northeastern and western United States, and to customers reselling frozen chicken into export markets.