TOP STORIES

 

Tyson Plant Reopens After Infestation -- Market Talk

13:14 ET - Meat processor Tyson Foods reopened an Indiana pork plant that closed earlier this week after an insect infestation. The company closed its Logansport facility after cockroach sightings, according to a person familiar with the matter. Tyson says it closed temporarily due to a production issue, which has been resolved, and declined to disclose more detail. The plant closed after USDA inspectors decided on Monday to withhold their inspection seal due to unsanitary conditions, the agency says, which prevented the company from selling its meat. (benjamin.parkin@wsj.com; @b_parkyn)

 

JBS Shares Rise Following Former CEO's Release From Prison

SAO PAULO--Brazil's JBS SA (JBSS3.BR), the world's biggest meatpacker, saw its shares gain Wednesday after its former Chief Executive Wesley Batista was released from prison.

Shares of JBS, which owns U.S. brands Swift and Pilgrim's Pride, were up 3.4% in early afternoon trading in Brazil.

A Brazilian court late Tuesday said it agreed to release Mr. Batista, who had been locked up since last September. The executive, freed early Wednesday, will have to wear an ankle monitor and will be forbidden from leaving the country or returning to his company, the court said in a statement.

 

Update: Wendy's Shares Fall After Company Misses 4Q Revenue Expectations -- MarketWatch

Shares of Wendy's Co. (WEN) fell more than 6% late Wednesday after the fast-food company beat per-share earnings expectations but missed on revenue. Wendy's said it earned $159.3 million, or 64 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $28.9 million, or 11 cents, in the fourth quarter of 2016. Adjusted for one-time earnings, Wendy's earned 11 cents a share in the quarter, compared with 8 cents a share a year ago. Revenue reached $309.2 million, compared with $309.9 a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 11 cents a share on sales of $313 million.

 

STORIES OF INTEREST

 

Oil Pipeline Companies' New Foe: Texas Farmers -- Market Talk

15:27 ET - Oil and gas pipeline companies already battling Native Americans and environmentalists may soon also be fighting Texas farmers. Gene Hall, communications director for the 500,000 member-strong Texas Farm Bureau says companies are using eminent domain to force pipelines through farmers' lands, and says the bureau aims to take it up with the legislature in 2019. "Low-ball things are going on right now and pipeline companies are among some of the worst offenders," Hall tells a Lions Club luncheon in Ennis, Texas. "They'll come out and offer you a ridiculously low price for the land or the property, and then if you say 'That's not enough' they'll say 'Fine, come to court.' And what they know is their pockets are deep and yours are not." (dan.molinski@wsj.com)

 

KFC Crisis Could Cost Up to GBP3.1M of Ebitda for Boparan: BAML -- Market Talk

0928 GMT - Logistical problems that have caused a chicken shortage for KFC and led to the closure of a large number of stores could impact the earnings of Boparan, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Boparan is one of the several poultry suppliers to KFC UK and given its market share, analyst Tom Gibney says it may be the largest supplier. A bullish assumption points to a negative impact of GBP0.2 million on Boparan's fiscal 3Q 2018 Ebitda, with a bearish scenario pointing to losses of GBP3.1 million. (tasos.vossos@wsj.com; @tasosvos)

 

FUTURES MARKETS

 

Cattle Futures Ease Off Recent Highs; Cash Prices Fall

Cattle futures tumbled from multimonth highs, while meatpackers negotiated lower prices with feedyard operators for slaughter-ready animals.

The cash trade for physical cattle rose sharply last week. Meatpackers paid an average of $130 per 100 pounds, up $4 from the previous week. The futures market also rose, as traders looked to tighter short-term supplies of slaughter-ready cattle.

February live cattle contracts fell 0.5% to $1.2965 a pound at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, briefly shooting lower on Wednesday morning before recouping most of those losses.

Hog futures rose, bouncing from recent lows. Cash prices have fallen every day for over two weeks. CME April lean hog contracts rose 1% to 69.9 cents a pound.

 

CASH MARKETS

 
Zumbrota, Minn Hog Steady At $41.00 - Feb 21 
 

Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market are steady at $41.00 per hundredweight.

Sow prices are steady. Sows weighing 400-450 pounds are at $47.00-$49.00, 450-500 pounds are $47.00-$49.00 and those over 500 pounds are $51.00-$53.00.

The day's total run is estimated at 200 head.

Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association.

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Feb 21 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
Feb 21       +$25.13              +$37.64 
Feb 20       +$25.16              +$38.99 
Feb 19       +$21.84              +$36.26 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                 Beef 
          For Today             Choice  111.7 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  111.1 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 
 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday rose $1.45 per hundred pounds to $217.37, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $1.52 per hundred pounds to $211.92. The total load count was 114. Wholesale pork prices fell 63 cents to $77.91 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2018 17:44 ET (22:44 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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