Stephens Inc. AR Invests $1.07 Million in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 45,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFD. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CWM LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of SFD opened at $21.51 on Friday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $26.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.62 billion. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smithfield Foods

In other news, insider Doug Sutton purchased 3,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $91,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 68,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,602,390. The trade was a 6.03% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Long Wan purchased 1,800,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $41,850,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,060,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,645,000. This represents a 55.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 1,831,753 shares of company stock valued at $42,588,257 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.50 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price target on shares of Smithfield Foods and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.31.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc produces and markets a variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. The Company operates in four segments: Pork, Hog Production, International and Corporate, each of which consists of a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments.