Kestra Investment Management LLC Sells 33,159 Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Kestra Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,198 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,159 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Smithfield Foods were worth $2,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $33,145,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $19,855,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $18,975,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $16,444,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 232.4% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 831,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,246,000 after acquiring an additional 581,100 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Stephens reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $21.00 target price on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.67.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ SFD opened at $19.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.91 and a fifty-two week high of $29.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.86. The stock has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31 and a beta of -0.39.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

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