Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys New Stake in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 156,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,195,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $394,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,087,000. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,621,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,687,000. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,421,000.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

NASDAQ SFD opened at $23.96 on Friday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $26.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion and a PE ratio of 10.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.73.

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

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hank Shenghua He acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $232,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 87,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,750. The trade was a 12.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Keller D. Watts bought 3,833 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $89,117.25. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 74,857 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,425.25. This trade represents a 5.40% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 1,831,753 shares of company stock valued at $42,588,257 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on SFD shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays boosted 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. Zacks Research upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. 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 research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $28.44.

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.