Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires Shares of 84,055 Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital acquired 84,055 Smithfield Foods shares worth approximately $2.35 million, joining several hedge funds that recently increased their positions in the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with five Buy ratings and one Hold rating. Smithfield has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $30.88.
• Smithfield announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share, or $1.25 annualized, representing a 4.9% yield; shares recently opened at $25.34.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 84,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,351,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SFD. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Smithfield Foods by 94.0% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,343,000 after buying an additional 1,760,713 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 653.3% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company's stock worth $39,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,605 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,291,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Smithfield Foods by 583.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,212,144 shares of the company's stock worth $28,461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Smithfield Foods by 553.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,061,740 shares of the company's stock worth $24,930,000 after acquiring an additional 899,200 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America cut their price target on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.88.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Smithfield Foods stock opened at $25.34 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90 and a beta of -0.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.08 and a 1 year high of $29.81. The company's 50-day moving average is $25.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.61.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.83%.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

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.

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