Donovan Owens Purchases 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 bought 12,000 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 77,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,790,250. This trade represents a 18.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:SFD traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $24.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,406,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,835,689. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.43 and a 12-month high of $26.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.63.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is currently 44.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SFD. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. CWM LLC purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000.

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.