ING Groep NV Lowers Position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

ING Groep NV decreased its position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 213,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 115,700 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned 0.05% of Smithfield Foods worth $4,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Parallel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Smithfield Foods by 82.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 1,816 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the third quarter valued at $98,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SFD. Zacks Research downgraded Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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 report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.88.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:SFD opened at $26.25 on Tuesday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.08 and a 12-month high of $29.81. 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 cap of $10.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25 and a beta of -0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.63.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.48%.The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Smithfield Foods’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is currently 48.83%.

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.