Donovan Owens Buys 12,000 Shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Stock

Key Points

• Donovan Owens, an insider at Smithfield Foods, purchased 12,000 shares at $23.25 each, increasing his total holdings to 77,000 shares valued at approximately $1.79 million.
• Smithfield Foods reported quarterly earnings of $0.55 per share, falling short of expectations, despite a revenue increase of 11% year-over-year to $3.79 billion.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Smithfield Foods, with Barclays and Morgan Stanley both targeting $30.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Buy" for the stock.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) insider Donovan Owens acquired 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $279,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 77,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,790,250. The trade was a 18.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of SFD traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,508,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,931. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.43 and a 12-month high of $26.07. The stock has a market cap of $9.17 billion and a PE ratio of 10.28. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.63 and its 200 day moving average is $22.55.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.62 billion. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid 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 was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.05%.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SFD. Renaissance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,040,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,587,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $102,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SFD shares. Barclays raised their price target on Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.50 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $28.44.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

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.

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