Investors Fly The Coop Amid Tyson Turmoil

Tyson Foods, Inc. TSN shares have resumed the selloff it witnessed last Thursday in reaction to a Washington Post report that dwelt upon a Georgia Department of Agriculture memo.

Reactionary Drops

In reaction to the revelation, shares of major meat companies fell last Thursday:

• Pilgrim's Pride Corporation PPC: (-5.24 percent).
• Sanderson Farms, Inc. SAFM: (-4.23 percent).
• Tyson Foods: (-3.36 percent).

Tyson Foods, which saw a reprieve last Friday, is being pounded on Monday in reaction to twin negative tidings.

Catalysts

The most recent catalysts for the incremental downward move have been the company's fourth-quarter results that missed estimates and its announcement that its CEO Donnie Smith, who has helmed the company since 2009, will leave on December 31, 2016, and will be replaced by Tom Hayes.

The company's fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share rose to $0.96 from $0.83 even as fell to $9.16 billion from $10.51 billion. Analysts, on average, expected earnings of $1.17 per share on revenues of $9.38 billion.

Among segments, chicken, which accounted for roughly 31 percent, saw sales falling 7 percent, with a 3.5 percent price gain tempering a 10.1 percent drop in volume.

For 2017, the company said it expects 2017 earnings per share of $4.70 to $4.85, translating to an adjusted earnings per share growth of 7–10 percent. The current consensus estimate is at $4.98 per share.

The Washington Post memo that led to last Thursday's selloff alleged that prices provided by eight anonymous chicken companies in the state for calculating the Georgia price estimate called the Georgia Dock may not have given accurate information. The claims broached the possibility of artificial inflation in chicken prices. Since poultry is one of the flourishing businesses in the state, an artificial upward lift in prices would mean higher revenues for those companies operating in the state and selling elsewhere in the United States.

However, Hormel Foods Corp HRL was relatively immune to the memo, with the shares of the company rising 0.53 percent on Thursday, but losing a little over 1 percent last Friday.

At Last Check

• Hormel Foods was down 2 percent to $34.84.
• Pilgrim's Pride, after the two-session slide, was seen recovering by 1.58 percent to $18.60.
• Sanderson Farms was down for a fourth straight session, losing 1.38 percent to $79.92.
• Tyson Foods was slumping 14.68 percent to $57.35 on roughly 5 times its average volume.