Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Receives $29.38 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.3750.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SFD. Fortress Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 110.3% in the third quarter. Fortress Investment Group LLC now owns 201,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,721,000 after buying an additional 105,464 shares during the period. Game Creek Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the third quarter valued at about $1,849,000. Monashee Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the third quarter valued at about $4,226,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $595,000. Finally, MASO CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the third quarter valued at about $1,882,000.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Smithfield Foods stock opened at $28.88 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of -0.33. Smithfield Foods has a one year low of $19.31 and a one year high of $29.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.64.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 24th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. This is a positive change from Smithfield Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 7th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.80%.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

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.