Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Position in Tyson Foods, Inc. $TSN

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) by 81.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,222 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,742 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Tyson Foods were worth $2,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TSN. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tyson Foods by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,726,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,009 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Tyson Foods by 877.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,373,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,835 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers increased its stake in shares of Tyson Foods by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 9,962,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,661 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Tyson Foods by 73.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,879,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,042,000 after buying an additional 795,710 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its stake in Tyson Foods by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,746,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,814,000 after buying an additional 445,018 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.00% of the company’s stock.

Tyson Foods Stock Up 1.4%

Tyson Foods stock opened at $64.57 on Wednesday. Tyson Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.56 and a 1-year high of $66.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.19.

Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.04). Tyson Foods had a net margin of 0.36% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $14.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Tyson Foods, Inc. will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Tyson Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Tyson Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 364.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Tyson Foods to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Tyson Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Tyson Foods in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Tyson Foods from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Tyson Foods from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Tyson Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.45.

Tyson Foods Company Profile

Tyson Foods, Inc (NYSE: TSN) is a multinational food company primarily engaged in the production, processing and marketing of protein-based and prepared food products. Founded in 1935 and headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company is one of the world’s largest processors of chicken, beef and pork. Its operations span live animal procurement and farming relationships through slaughter, further processing and distribution, supplying raw protein and value-added prepared foods to retail, foodservice and industrial customers.

The company’s product portfolio covers fresh and frozen meats, branded and private-label prepared foods, and a range of value-added items such as ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook meals, snack and sandwich meats.