4. Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48
Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) operates as an agribusiness and food company worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Agribusiness, Refined & Specialty Oils, Milling, and Sugar & Bioenergy. Shares of Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) have surged 31.18% over the past 12 months, as of August 22.
On July 27, Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) reported earnings per share of $2.97 for the second quarter, while it generated revenue of $17.9 billion, up 16.52% year-over-year. On August 11, Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.625 per share, payable on December 2 to shareholders of record on November 18. As of August 22, the stock has a trailing twelve-month PE ratio of 8.53x and BG shares have a forward dividend yield of 2.50%.
Wall Street is bullish on Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG). On July 28, Barclays analyst Benjamin Theurer revised his price target on Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) to $125 from $135 and reiterated an ‘Overweight’ rating on the shares. On August 12, Wolfe Research analyst Sam Margolin initiated coverage of Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) with an ‘Outperform’ rating and a $127 price target. The analyst sees upside to the company’s growth guidance in a stronger commodity price environment.
At the close of Q2, 48 hedge funds were bullish on Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) and held stakes worth $729 million in the company. Of those, Millennium Management was the top shareholder, owning shares worth $177 million.
Here is what Old West Investment Management had to say about Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) in its first-quarter 2022 investor letter:
“Bunge (pronounced BUN-GEE) Ltd (NYSE:BG) is one of the biggest agribusinesses and food companies in the world. There are four worldwide companies that dominate the sector, the others being Archer-Daniels-Midland Cargill, and Dreyfuss. One of our favorite ways to screen for new ideas is following insider buying. When I saw the Form 4 filed by new Bunge CEO Greg Heckman, his purchase of $9 million of BG stock intrigued me. My initial thought was the company gave him the stock as a signing bonus. I contacted BG Investor Relations and asked whether it was a signing bonus or did Heckman actually write a check for $9 million. IR assured me it was his own hard-earned money that he invested in the company he was about to run.
Heckman was a long time executive at Conagra Foods who obviously sensed opportunity at BG. One of his first moves as CEO was to move the company’s HQ from New York to St. Louis, right in the middle of America’s breadbasket. BG had been plagued for years with poor decisions by underperforming management. Heckman’s decision to move to St. Louis was indicative of a no-nonsense style and he would commence cutting expenses and selling non-core assets…” (Click here to see the full text)
