Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Receives $28.44 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.4375.

Several research firms have recently commented on SFD. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.50 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $23.33 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.56. Smithfield Foods has a 12-month low of $18.43 and a 12-month high of $26.07. The firm has a market cap of $9.17 billion and a PE ratio of 10.28.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.62 billion. Smithfield Foods’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.05%.

Insider Activity at Smithfield Foods

In other Smithfield Foods news, Director Long Wan purchased 1,800,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $41,850,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,060,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,645,000. The trade was a 55.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hank Shenghua He purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $232,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 87,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,750. This trade represents a 12.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 1,831,753 shares of company stock worth $42,588,257 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $1,040,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Amalgamated Bank bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,587,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $102,000.

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.