Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN) produces, distributes, and markets chicken, beef, pork, prepared foods, and related allied products. Valued at $20.6 billion by market cap, TSN is one of the world’s largest food companies and its products are marketed and sold to national and regional grocery retailers, regional grocery wholesalers, meat distributors, warehouse club stores, military commissaries, and industrial food processing companies.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and TSN perfectly fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this mark, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the farm products industry. Tyson Foods has a strong brand portfolio and is a major player in the U.S. protein industry, with strong market presence and consumer trust. Its vertically integrated chicken production process ensures quality, efficiency, and resilience to market fluctuations and disruptions.
Despite its notable strength, TSN slipped 13.2% from its 52-week high of $66.88, achieved on Sep. 9. Over the past three months, TSN stock declined 3.5%, underperforming the Invesco Food & Beverage ETF’s (PBJ) 2.1% losses during the same time frame.
In the longer term, shares of TSN rose 7.9% on a YTD basis and climbed 13.4% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming PBJ’s YTD gains of 2.6% and 4.6% returns over the last year.
However, TSN has been trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages recently.
On Nov. 12, TSN shares closed up more than 6% after reporting its Q4 results. Its adjusted EPS of $0.92 beat Wall Street expectations of $0.64. The company’s revenue stood at $13.6 billion, up 1.6% year over year.
In the competitive arena of consumer staples, Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC) has taken the lead over TSN, showing resilience with a 66.9% uptick on a YTD basis and 74.4% gains over the past 52 weeks.
Wall Street analysts are cautious on TSN’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from the eight analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $63.78 suggests a potential upside of 9.9% from current price levels.
