Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $22.67 and traded as high as $24.17. Smithfield Foods shares last traded at $24.12, with a volume of 1,504,791 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SFD shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.50 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $28.44.

Smithfield Foods Stock Up 1.0%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.67. The company has a market cap of $9.48 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.63.

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

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Hank Shenghua He purchased 10,000 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $232,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 87,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,750. This represents a 12.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Doug Sutton purchased 3,920 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $91,140.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 68,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,602,390. This represents a 6.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,831,753 shares of company stock valued at $42,588,257. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFD. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the second quarter worth about $29,000. CWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth about $34,000.

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.