Uma análise da dinâmica da estrutura de capital e das métricas de avaliação no setor de alimentos no Brasil

Abstract

The present work analyzes the dynamics of the capital structure and the main metrics of evaluation of the food sector of the Brazilian Stock Exchange (B3). The investigation is based on the dynamics of key financial variables such as the capital structure of companies and market multiples for the value, price and profitability between January 2015 and July 2020 and is divided into two stages, namely: the first that follows traditional approaches to investigate which of the Capital Structure theories governs the Brazilian food sector and; the second in which time series is applied to the key variables selected for the elaboration of scenarios for 2021. The results of the analyzes and projections showed evidence of behaviors that are in line with the Pecking Order and Trade-Off theories. There was a grouping in terms of capital structure of companies belonging to the meat and meat products segment. The company with the highest equity capital, belonging to the diverse food segment, was traded for more expensive multiples and with greater stability in B3, while the companies with the highest indebtedness proved to be more volatile and with less market value. It was also observed that the market prices investment movements, such as acquisitions. For 2021 the projections indicate a slight upward trend in the leverage of companies and a retraction in the sector with signs of reversion to the market value observed at the end of 2017.