Tyson Foods Rallies as Beef Plant Closures Target $650 Million Loss

Tyson Foods shares jumped more than 6% this week after the company said it will shut its beef facility in Joslin, Illinois, divest its Pasco, Washington plant and close a major beef packaging site in Utah. The restructuring is aimed at offsetting roughly $650 million in losses from its struggling beef segment, which has been squeezed by historically tight cattle supplies.

The stock got an additional lift from Washington: the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would resume importing cattle from Mexico, a move that should ease the supply crunch that has kept beef processing margins deep in the red.

Tyson also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.51 per share with an ex-date of September 1. Shares traded near $57 following the news, as investors bet the capacity cuts mark a turning point for the protein giant's most troubled business.