Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Stock Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Smithfield Foods received an average “Hold” rating from seven analysts: three Buys, three Holds, and one Sell. The average 12-month price target is $26.00, though recent targets range from $21 to $32.
• The stock opened at $18.61, near its 52-week low of $18.39, with a market capitalization of $7.33 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94.
• Smithfield reported quarterly earnings of $0.62 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.60, while revenue fell 2.3% year over year to $3.70 billion. The company also offers a quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share, equivalent to a 6.7% annualized yield.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

SFD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Bank of America downgraded Smithfield Foods from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $21.00 price objective on Smithfield Foods in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Smithfield Foods from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

SFD stock opened at $18.61 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Smithfield Foods has a fifty-two week low of $18.39 and a fifty-two week high of $29.81. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $21.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.61. The stock has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 6.94 and a beta of -0.41.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Smithfield Foods will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is 46.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,145,000. Fourth Sail Capital LP raised its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 1,140,619 shares of the company's stock worth $25,470,000 after buying an additional 159,038 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 232.4% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 831,100 shares of the company's stock worth $23,246,000 after buying an additional 581,100 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $19,855,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,975,000.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

Smithfield Foods, Inc is a vertically integrated food company focused on pork production and packaged meats. Its operations include raising livestock, processing and packaging pork, and distributing fresh pork and prepared foods. The company's products include bacon, ham, sausage, hot dogs, lunch meats, fresh pork cuts and other refrigerated and shelf-stable meat products.

Smithfield markets products under brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Farmland, Nathan's Famous and Healthy Ones, as well as private-label offerings for retailers and food-service customers.

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