Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Tyson Foods Put Options (NYSE:TSN)

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 20,346 put options on the company. This is an increase of 701% compared to the typical volume of 2,539 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on TSN shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Tyson Foods from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Tyson Foods from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Tyson Foods from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Tyson Foods from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Tyson Foods from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.67.

Tyson Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:TSN traded up $0.30 on Tuesday, reaching $57.44. 3,708,653 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,437,958. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.39. Tyson Foods has a 52 week low of $51.16 and a 52 week high of $66.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.79.

Insider Activity at Tyson Foods

In related news, insider Wes Morris sold 22,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.71, for a total value of $1,428,721.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,409.27. This trade represents a 58.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Adam S. Deckinger sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total value of $680,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 19,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,248,048. This trade represents a 35.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 414,814 shares of company stock valued at $26,450,955 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tyson Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Tyson Foods by 56.1% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Tyson Foods during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Tyson Foods by 301.6% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 747 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tyson Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tyson Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. 67.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.