WINTON GROUP Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM) by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,602 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,340 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned 0.08% of Sanderson Farms worth $2,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SAFM. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sanderson Farms by 120.8% during the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 944,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,450,000 after purchasing an additional 516,627 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Sanderson Farms by 87.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 650,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,243,000 after purchasing an additional 303,569 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sanderson Farms by 39.8% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 799,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,600,000 after purchasing an additional 227,637 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sanderson Farms by 671.4% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 215,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,570,000 after purchasing an additional 187,526 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Sanderson Farms by 34.9% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 601,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,153,000 after purchasing an additional 155,685 shares during the period. 87.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Credit Suisse Group cut shares of Sanderson Farms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cfra decreased their price objective on shares of Sanderson Farms from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Sanderson Farms from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BidaskClub raised shares of Sanderson Farms from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Sanderson Farms from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $151.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.25.
NASDAQ SAFM opened at $114.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $114.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of -956.58 and a beta of 0.59. Sanderson Farms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.13 and a fifty-two week high of $179.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 3.04.
Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ:SAFM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.80) by $1.08. The firm had revenue of $844.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $854.43 million. Sanderson Farms had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a negative return on equity of 2.65%. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sanderson Farms, Inc. will post -3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 27th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Sanderson Farms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.00%.
In other news, Director Phil K. Livingston sold 700 shares of Sanderson Farms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.99, for a total value of $88,193.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,058.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Bierbusse sold 1,500 shares of Sanderson Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.30, for a total value of $198,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,561,272.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Sanderson Farms Profile
Sanderson Farms, Inc, an integrated poultry processing company, produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and prepared chicken products in the United States. The company sells ice-packed, chill-packed, bulk-packed, and frozen chicken primarily under the Sanderson Farms brand name to retailers, distributors, and casual dining operators in the southeastern, southwestern, northeastern, and western United States, as well as to customers who resell frozen chicken into export markets.
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