Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Purchases Shares of 273,732 Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 273,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,829,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.07% of Smithfield Foods as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,456,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth $3,195,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $485,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 7,016.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 35,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 267.1% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 53,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 38,580 shares in the last quarter.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 1.3%

SFD opened at $26.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.41. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $21.08 and a one year high of $29.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of -0.41.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.48%.The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is currently 48.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SFD. Weiss Ratings raised Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.88.

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.