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

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.90.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SFD shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter worth $4,856,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 193.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,900,000 after purchasing an additional 144,714 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 43,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 8,386 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,090,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,670,000 after buying an additional 253,286 shares during the last quarter.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

SFD opened at $24.88 on Friday. Smithfield Foods has a 52-week low of $18.43 and a 52-week high of $26.07. The firm has a market cap of $9.78 billion and a P/E ratio of 11.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.58 and its 200-day moving average is $23.17.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

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.