Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Smithfield Foods, with five buy ratings and one sell rating; the average 12-month price target is $31.00.
• Shares opened at $19.95, near their 12-month low of $19.87, while the company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.62, above the $0.60 consensus estimate, despite a 2.3% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Smithfield Foods pays a quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share, equivalent to $1.25 annually and a 6.3% yield, with a payout ratio of 46.64%.

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SFD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Smithfield Foods from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Smithfield Foods from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $19.95 on Thursday. Smithfield Foods has a twelve month low of $19.87 and a twelve month high of $29.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44 and a beta of -0.51.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Smithfield Foods will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Group One Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,524 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc is a food company focused on pork production and processing. Its operations include raising hogs, processing fresh pork, and producing packaged meats and prepared foods for retail, foodservice and other customers.

The company markets products under brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Farmland, Gwaltney, John Morrell and Healthy Ones. Its offerings include fresh pork cuts, bacon, ham, sausage, lunch meats, hot dogs and other prepared pork products.

Founded in 1936 and headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, Smithfield serves customers in the United States and international markets through its production, processing and distribution network.

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