Tyson Foods Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:TSN)

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 2,736 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 102% compared to the average volume of 1,352 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tyson Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Tyson Foods by 15.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 3,788 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Tyson Foods by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 24,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 7,011 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Tyson Foods by 84.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $804,000 after buying an additional 5,749 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Tyson Foods by 100.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 3,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Tyson Foods by 129.2% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 85,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,807,000 after buying an additional 48,451 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.00% of the company’s stock.

Tyson Foods Price Performance

NYSE:TSN traded up $2.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $62.96. The stock had a trading volume of 509,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,075,730. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.17 billion, a PE ratio of 49.55, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.40. Tyson Foods has a 52 week low of $50.56 and a 52 week high of $69.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Tyson Foods had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 7.59%. The firm had revenue of $13.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tyson Foods will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tyson Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Tyson Foods’s payout ratio is presently 160.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on TSN shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Tyson Foods in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Tyson Foods from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Tyson Foods from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Tyson Foods in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Tyson Foods from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tyson Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.88.

About Tyson Foods

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.