Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SFD. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.88.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SFD stock opened at $26.25 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25 and a beta of -0.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.35. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $21.08 and a 52 week high of $29.81.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Smithfield Foods will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Smithfield Foods by 76.5% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Group One Trading LLC bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

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.