Sei Investments Co. Acquires 203,423 Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) by 105.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 396,032 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 203,423 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.10% of Smithfield Foods worth $11,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFD. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SFD shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Smithfield Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.88.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $26.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.66 and a 200 day moving average of $25.56. The firm has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17 and a beta of -0.41. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.08 and a 1 year high of $29.81.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be 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 is Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 48.83%.

Smithfield Foods 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.