Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.3125.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SFD. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 target price on Smithfield Foods and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFD. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Smithfield Foods by 94.0% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,713 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in Smithfield Foods by 73.2% during the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,836,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,126,000 after purchasing an additional 776,330 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 653.3% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,605 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at $31,295,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 583.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,212,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,461,000 after buying an additional 1,034,814 shares in the last quarter.

Smithfield Foods Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of SFD opened at $22.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.84 billion and a PE ratio of 10.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.17. Smithfield Foods has a 12-month low of $18.43 and a 12-month high of $26.07.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.58 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.05%.

About Smithfield Foods

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.