35,536 Shares in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD Purchased by Live Oak Investment Partners

Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 35,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

SFD opened at $22.55 on Thursday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $21.08 and a one year high of $29.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41 and a beta of -0.44.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Smithfield Foods from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research cut Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

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.