Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

Several brokerages have weighed in on SFD. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on Smithfield Foods from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

SFD stock opened at $19.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41 and a beta of -0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.56. Smithfield Foods has a 52-week low of $19.61 and a 52-week high of $29.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.09.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Smithfield Foods will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Capital Financial Group Inc. Co. ADV lifted its position in Smithfield Foods by 5.8% in the first quarter. Capital Financial Group Inc. Co. ADV now owns 10,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Group One Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 5.5% in the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 25,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 1,333 shares during the period.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

Smithfield Foods, Inc is a food company focused on pork production and processing. Its operations include raising hogs, processing fresh pork, and producing packaged meats and prepared foods for retail, foodservice and other customers.

The company markets products under brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Farmland, Gwaltney, John Morrell and Healthy Ones. Its offerings include fresh pork cuts, bacon, ham, sausage, lunch meats, hot dogs and other prepared pork products.

Founded in 1936 and headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, Smithfield serves customers in the United States and international markets through its production, processing and distribution network.