Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM – Get Rating) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $202.29.

A number of research analysts have commented on SAFM shares. Zacks Investment Research cut Sanderson Farms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 5th. StockNews.com started coverage on Sanderson Farms in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock.

SAFM opened at $194.49 on Friday. Sanderson Farms has a one year low of $155.34 and a one year high of $200.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $187.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.14.

Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ:SAFM – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 24th. The company reported $8.64 EPS for the quarter. Sanderson Farms had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 12.23%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sanderson Farms will post 31.89 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 2nd. Sanderson Farms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.15%.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAFM. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Sanderson Farms by 5.1% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Sanderson Farms by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,830,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sanderson Farms by 0.7% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 9,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sanderson Farms by 95.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sanderson Farms by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 79.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sanderson Farms (Get Rating)

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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