Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.8750.

Several brokerages have commented on SFD. Zacks Research cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ SFD opened at $24.87 on Friday. Smithfield Foods has a 1 year low of $21.08 and a 1 year high of $29.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.68 and its 200-day moving average is $25.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of -0.41.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Smithfield Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Smithfield Foods will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Smithfield Foods by 94.0% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,713 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,090,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,670,000 after purchasing an additional 253,286 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,443,605 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,560,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,849,000 after buying an additional 348,503 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,431,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,955,000 after buying an additional 109,254 shares during the period.

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.