Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.88.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Smithfield Foods stock opened at $23.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.12. Smithfield Foods has a fifty-two week low of $18.55 and a fifty-two week high of $26.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.98.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 94.0% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,713 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,090,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,670,000 after purchasing an additional 253,286 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,443,605 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Smithfield Foods by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,560,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,849,000 after purchasing an additional 348,503 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,431,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,955,000 after purchasing an additional 109,254 shares in the last quarter.

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.