Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on SFD. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.38.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFD opened at $26.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.03. Smithfield Foods has a fifty-two week low of $18.55 and a fifty-two week high of $26.74.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 24th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS.

Smithfield Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Smithfield Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.84%.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,713 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 653.3% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,605 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter worth $31,291,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Smithfield Foods by 583.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,212,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 553.2% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,061,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,930,000 after purchasing an additional 899,200 shares during the period.

Key Headlines Impacting Smithfield Foods

Here are the key news stories impacting Smithfield Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, stronger margins and dividend increase — Smithfield reported better-than-expected FQ4 results (revenue +7% to $4.23B; EPS beat) and the board raised the dividend to $1.25/share, supporting income-oriented investors and signaling cash-flow strength. Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and bullish notes are lifting sentiment — Zacks moved SFD from “Hold” to “Strong Buy” and Morgan Stanley published a note saying the stock is expected to rise, both providing fresh buy-side impetus. Zacks Upgrade Morgan Stanley Note
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat bullish technical/valuation case points to a clear upside path — coverage argues Smithfield is undervalued (~9x earnings vs. peers), highlights margin improvement, a raised dividend, and sees a path to ~$30/share driven by volume, analyst target increases and a breakout above prior highs. MarketBeat $30 Article
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition of Nathan’s Famous (expected H1 close) is accretive to branded packaged-meats margin — completing the $450M deal gives Smithfield full brand ownership, removes licensing fees and should boost margin and higher-margin packaged products. InsiderMonkey on Nathan’s Acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus is constructive but not unanimous — several services show a “moderate buy” consensus, indicating broad support but limited coverage depth; watch for follow-on revisions from major sell-side firms. Consensus Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and input-cost volatility could be a two-way force — an article notes rising food and plastics prices tied to geopolitical tensions (Iran war), which can lift selling prices but also raise processing/packaging costs; net impact depends on pass-through and mix. MSN Macro/Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Segment margin pressure remains in places — MarketBeat notes some margin pressure in Packaged Meats and Other segments (partly offset elsewhere), so investors should monitor whether operational improvements and pricing fully offset cost headwinds. MarketBeat on Margins

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ: SFD) is one of the world’s largest pork processors and hog producers. Founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, the company has grown from a regional ham producer into a fully integrated food company offering a broad range of fresh pork, value-added meats and prepared foods. Its product portfolio includes bacon, ham, sausage, ribs and deli meats marketed under well-known brands such as Smithfield®, Nathan’s Famous® and Eckrich®.

Smithfield operates a network of hog production facilities, processing plants and distribution centers across the United States, Europe and Latin America.