Fourth Sail Capital LP Purchases Shares of 782,981 Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Fourth Sail Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 782,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,424,000. Smithfield Foods accounts for 3.8% of Fourth Sail Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth $27,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at $34,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Security National Bank acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $67,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $28.50 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.31.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 0.2%

SFD stock opened at $21.84 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $22.93 and its 200 day moving average is $23.44. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.43 and a 12-month high of $26.07. The stock has a market cap of $8.59 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.58 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is 45.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Doug Sutton bought 3,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $91,140.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 68,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,602,390. The trade was a 6.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Long Wan acquired 1,800,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $41,850,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,060,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,645,000. This trade represents a 55.21% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 1,831,753 shares of company stock worth $42,588,257 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Smithfield Foods Profile

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.