Ancora Advisors LLC Takes Position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC acquired 276,870 shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc., valued at approximately $5.6 million, increasing their ownership to about 0.07% of the company.
• Wall Street analysts have expressed positive sentiment about Smithfield Foods, with prices targets raised by Barclays, UBS Group, and Morgan Stanley, affirming buy ratings and setting new price targets between $28.50 and $30.00.
• Smithfield Foods announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a 4.2% yield, while reporting strong revenue growth of 11.0% year-over-year, despite slightly missing earnings expectations.

Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 276,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,645,000. Ancora Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Smithfield Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $102,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $28.50 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays lifted 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, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.44.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 1.3%

SFD stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $23.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,586,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 829,736. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.54. 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 $9.23 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.62 billion. Smithfield Foods's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is presently 44.05%.

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.