Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Now Covered by Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on SFD. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.67.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $21.34 on Monday. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $19.10 and a 52 week high of $22.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $50,138,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 364,518,817 shares in the company, valued at $7,290,376,340. The trade was a 0.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hank Shenghua He purchased 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $340,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 77,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,000. The trade was a 28.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 59,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,180,000 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Smithfield Foods Company 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.