Bank of America Corp DE Makes New Investment in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• Bank of America initiated a position in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter, purchasing 818,432 shares valued at approximately $19.9 million, representing about 0.21% of the company.
• Smithfield reported quarterly EPS of $0.62, beating expectations of $0.60, while revenue fell 2.3% year over year to $3.70 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.3125, equivalent to a 6.6% annualized yield.
• Shares recently traded near $19.01, close to their 12-month low of $18.81. Analysts’ consensus remains “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $31, despite mixed rating changes.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 818,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,855,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.21% of Smithfield Foods at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its position in Smithfield Foods by 36.8% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,524 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the second quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at $58,000.

Smithfield Foods Trading Up 0.4%

Smithfield Foods stock opened at $19.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09 and a beta of -0.51. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.81 and a 12-month high of $29.81.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.55%. Smithfield Foods's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is currently 46.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SFD shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc is a food company focused on pork production and processing. Its operations include raising hogs, processing fresh pork, and producing packaged meats and prepared foods for retail, foodservice and other customers.

The company markets products under brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Farmland, Gwaltney, John Morrell and Healthy Ones. Its offerings include fresh pork cuts, bacon, ham, sausage, lunch meats, hot dogs and other prepared pork products.

Founded in 1936 and headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, Smithfield serves customers in the United States and international markets through its production, processing and distribution network.

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