Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $24.67 According to Analysts

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.67.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SFD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $21.00 price objective on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Friday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $58,000.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

SFD opened at $19.30 on Friday. Smithfield Foods has a 12 month low of $17.91 and a 12 month high of $29.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46 and a beta of -0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.89.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 5.94%. Smithfield Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Smithfield Foods will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is 54.82%.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a U.S.-based food company focused on pork production and packaged meats. Its operations span hog farming, meat processing and the manufacture and marketing of fresh pork and prepared foods.

The company sells products under brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Farmland, Armour and Cook’s. Its offerings include fresh pork, bacon, ham, sausage, hot dogs and other packaged meat products for retail, food-service and wholesale customers.

Founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, the company has grown from a regional meat processor into a major pork producer.