Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Price Target Cut to $32.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Bank of America from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 30.32% from the stock’s previous close.

SFD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.88.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFD traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.55. 174,626 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,312,411. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.08. The stock has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of -0.40. Smithfield Foods has a one year low of $21.08 and a one year high of $29.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.