BlackRock Inc. Purchases New Position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• BlackRock purchased 1.37 million shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter, valued at approximately $33.1 million and representing about 0.35% of the company.
• Smithfield reported quarterly EPS of $0.62, exceeding estimates of $0.60, though revenue fell 2.3% year over year to $3.70 billion.
• The stock recently traded at $21.84, while the company maintained its quarterly dividend of $0.3125, equating to a 5.7% annualized yield; analysts’ consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy” with a $31.50 average price target.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,366,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,145,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 0.35% of Smithfield Foods as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the third quarter valued at about $37,000.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.3%

SFD opened at $21.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of -0.51. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $21.08 and a one year high of $29.81. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $24.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.56.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 6.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.50.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SFD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report).

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.