Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Purchases Shares of 273,732 Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments disclosed a new stake in Smithfield Foods, buying 273,732 shares valued at about $7.83 million in the first quarter.
• Smithfield Foods reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.64 versus estimates of $0.58 and revenue of $3.80 billion versus $3.74 billion expected.
• The stock was down 1.3% in Friday trading, while analysts currently rate it Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $30.88.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 273,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,829,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.07% of Smithfield Foods as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,456,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth $3,195,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $485,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 7,016.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,363 shares of the company's stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 35,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 267.1% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 53,025 shares of the company's stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 38,580 shares in the last quarter.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 1.3%

SFD opened at $26.10 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $25.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.41. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $21.08 and a one year high of $29.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of -0.41.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.74 billion. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.48%.The business's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is currently 48.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SFD. Weiss Ratings raised Smithfield Foods from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.88.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc NASDAQ: SFD is one of the world's largest pork processors and hog producers. Founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, the company has grown from a regional ham producer into a fully integrated food company offering a broad range of fresh pork, value-added meats and prepared foods. Its product portfolio includes bacon, ham, sausage, ribs and deli meats marketed under well-known brands such as Smithfield®, Nathan's Famous® and Eckrich®.

Smithfield operates a network of hog production facilities, processing plants and distribution centers across the United States, Europe and Latin America.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.