Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) today announced that its
Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend
of $0.44 (forty-four cents) per share, an increase of $0.12 (twelve
cents) per share per quarter. This represents a new annual dividend
rate of $1.76 (one dollar and seventy-six cents) per share, or an
annual increase of $0.48 (forty-eight cents) per share. The regular
quarterly cash dividend is payable October 20, 2020, to
stockholders of record on October 6, 2020.
Commenting on the announcement, Joe F. Sanderson, Jr., chairman
and chief executive officer of Sanderson Farms, Inc., said, “The
Board’s decision today demonstrates confidence in our growth
strategy and confirms our unwavering commitment to enhancing
shareholder value. Importantly, our strong balance sheet and
financial strength have provided an opportunity to increase the
quarterly cash dividend and return additional funds to our
shareholders. At the same time, we are well positioned to continue
to manage our operations in a challenging environment and respond
to the opportunities ahead for Sanderson Farms.”
Sanderson Farms, Inc. is engaged in the production, processing,
marketing and distribution of fresh, frozen and minimally prepared
chicken. Its shares trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under
the symbol SAFM.
This press release includes forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking
statements are based on a number of assumptions about future events
and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual results to differ materially from the views,
beliefs, projections and estimates expressed in such statements.
These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not
limited to, those discussed under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31,
2019, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July
31, 2020, and the following:
(1) Changes in the market price for the Company’s finished
products and feed grains, both of which may fluctuate substantially
and exhibit cyclical characteristics typically associated with
commodity markets.
(2) Changes in economic and business conditions, monetary and
fiscal policies or the amount of growth, stagnation or recession in
the global or U.S. economies, any of which may affect the value of
inventories, the collectability of accounts receivable or the
financial integrity of customers, and the ability of the end user
or consumer to afford protein.
(3) Changes in the political or economic climate, trade
policies, laws and regulations or the domestic poultry industry of
countries to which the Company or other companies in the poultry
industry ship product, and other changes that might limit the
Company’s or the industry’s access to foreign markets.
(4) Changes in laws, regulations, and other activities in
government agencies and similar organizations applicable to the
Company and the poultry industry and changes in laws, regulations
and other activities in government agencies and similar
organizations related to food safety.
(5) Various inventory risks due to changes in market conditions,
including, but not limited to, the risk that net realizable values
of live and processed poultry inventories might be lower than the
cost of such inventories, requiring a downward adjustment to record
the value of such inventories at the lower of cost or net
realizable value as required by generally accepted accounting
principles.
(6) Changes in and effects of competition, which is significant
in all markets in which the Company competes, and the effectiveness
of marketing and advertising programs. The Company competes with
regional and national firms, some of which have greater financial
and marketing resources than the Company.
(7) Changes in accounting policies and practices adopted
voluntarily by the Company or required to be adopted by accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States.
(8) Disease outbreaks affecting the production, performance
and/or marketability of the Company’s poultry products, or the
contamination of its products.
(9) Changes in the availability and cost of labor and
growers.
(10) The loss of any of the Company’s major customers.
(11) Inclement weather that could hurt Company flocks or
otherwise adversely affect the Company’s operations, or changes in
global weather patterns that could affect the supply and price of
feed grains.
(12) Failure to respond to changing consumer preferences and
negative or competitive media campaigns.
(13) Failure to successfully and efficiently start up and run a
new plant or integrate any business the Company might acquire.
(14) Unfavorable results from currently pending litigation and
proceedings or litigation and proceedings that could arise in the
future.
(15) Changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, which could
exacerbate any of the risks described above, and could include:
high absentee rates that have prevented and may continue to prevent
the Company from running some of its facilities at full capacity,
or could in the future cause facility closures; an inability of
contract poultry producers to manage their flocks; supply chain
disruptions for feed grains; further changes in customer orders due
to shifting consumer patterns; disruptions in logistics and the
distribution chain for the Company’s products; liquidity
challenges; and a continued or worsening decline in global
commercial activity, among other unfavorable conditions.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Sanderson Farms.
Each such statement speaks only as of the day it was made. The
Company undertakes no obligation to update or to revise any
forward-looking statements. The factors described above cannot be
controlled by the Company. When used in this press release or in
the related conference call, the words “believes,” “estimates,”
“plans,” “expects,” “should,” “could,” “outlook,” and “anticipates”
and similar expressions as they relate to the Company or its
management are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Examples of forward-looking statements include statements of the
Company’s belief about future production levels, commodity market
conditions, grain prices, supply and demand factors, global
economic conditions, growth plans and other industry
conditions.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200924005787/en/
Mike Cockrell Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer
& Chief Legal Officer (601) 649-4030
Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ:SAFM)
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