Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on JBS (NYSE:JBS)

Jbs N.V. (NYSE:JBS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 6,899 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 259% compared to the average daily volume of 1,923 call options.

JBS Stock Performance

NYSE:JBS opened at $13.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $10.79 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $12.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.69. JBS has a 1-year low of $11.49 and a 1-year high of $18.65.

JBS (NYSE:JBS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.08). JBS had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 1.98%.The firm had revenue of $21.61 billion during the quarter. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that JBS will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBS. Steadtrust LLC lifted its position in JBS by 8.2% in the second quarter. Steadtrust LLC now owns 191,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 14,500 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. acquired a new position in JBS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $118,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in JBS by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 17,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 4,790 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of JBS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $21,866,000. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of JBS by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 19,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 2,845 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JBS. UBS Group set a $17.00 price target on shares of JBS in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of JBS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of JBS from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research raised JBS from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut JBS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $18.75.

JBS Company Profile

JBS SA is a global leader in the production and processing of meat products, with a focus on beef, pork and poultry. Headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, the company operates through an extensive network of owned facilities and partnerships that span the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. JBS supplies fresh, frozen and value-added protein solutions for retail, foodservice and industrial customers, and is active across the entire supply chain—from livestock procurement and feed production to slaughtering, processing, packaging and distribution.

Founded in 1953 by José Batista Sobrinho in Anápolis, Goiás, JBS began as a small slaughterhouse and expanded rapidly through strategic acquisitions and organic growth.