Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.8750.

Several research analysts have issued reports on SFD shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dayah Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at about $1,958,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 192.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 807,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,575,000 after purchasing an additional 531,461 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 36.8% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at about $462,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 281.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares during the period.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $26.16 on Friday. Smithfield Foods has a 1 year low of $21.08 and a 1 year high of $29.81. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of -0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.25.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Smithfield Foods will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is presently 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.