3. Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48
Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) is one of the premier agriculture stocks to invest in. It is a Missouri-based agribusiness and food company that operates through four segments – Agribusiness, Refined and Specialty Oils, Milling, and Sugar and Bioenergy. On November 15, Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per share, in line with previous. The dividend is payable on March 2, 2023 to shareholders of record on February 16.
On November 22, Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) announced that it has signed a strategic partnership with France’s BZ Group, and it has acquired 49% of the business. The BZ Group sources products from a huge network of independent farmers, including grains, oilseeds and pulses from suppliers in the northwest of France to export to its customers. This partnership will strengthen operational and commercial cooperation in a largely volatile and demanding market backdrop.
UBS analyst Manav Gupta on December 14 initiated coverage of Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) with a Buy rating and a $133 price target. The market is primarily focused on shrinking margins in 2024 and 2025 while “ignoring” the $13.50-plus per share in earnings Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) should report in 2022, the analyst told investors. In addition, Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) is not getting credit for $3.3 billion in capital it plans to deploy in the next three years, according to the analyst, who estimates that this should add $2.50 per share to EPS.
According to Insider Monkey’s data, 48 hedge funds were long Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) at the end of September 2022, and Jack Woodruff’s Candlestick Capital Management held the biggest position in the company, comprising 1.15 million shares worth $95 million.
Here is what Old West Investment Management had to say about Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) in its Q1 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)
