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

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.3125.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price objective on Smithfield Foods and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SFD. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,087,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $46,687,000. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,621,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 653.3% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,295,000.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of SFD opened at $22.78 on Tuesday. Smithfield Foods has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $26.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.29. The company has a market cap of $8.96 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.26.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.05%.

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.