Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) Stock Position Decreased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in shares of Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,870 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Tyson Foods were worth $839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Tyson Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tyson Foods during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ossiam grew its holdings in Tyson Foods by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 626 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Tyson Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Tyson Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 67.00% of the company’s stock.

Tyson Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TSN opened at $56.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.91 and a 200-day moving average of $57.57. Tyson Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $51.85 and a one year high of $66.88.

Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19. Tyson Foods had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 1.45%. The company had revenue of $13.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Tyson Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Tyson Foods, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tyson Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Tyson Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.91%.

Tyson Foods announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 7th that permits the company to buyback 43,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TSN. Wall Street Zen lowered Tyson Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JP Morgan Cazenove cut their price objective on shares of Tyson Foods from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Tyson Foods from $61.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Tyson Foods from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Tyson Foods in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tyson Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.33.

About Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Beef, Pork, Chicken, and Prepared Foods. The company processes live fed cattle and hogs; fabricates dressed beef and pork carcasses into primal and sub-primal meat cuts, as well as case ready beef and pork, and fully cooked meats; raises and processes chickens into fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken products, including breaded chicken strips, nuggets, patties, and other ready-to-fix or fully cooked chicken parts; and supplies poultry breeding stock.