Brightlight Capital Management LP Makes New $9.42 Million Investment in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• Brightlight Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods valued at approximately $9.42 million, making it the firm's 6th largest position.
• Smithfield Foods reported a quarterly revenue of $3.79 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, but earnings per share of $0.55 fell slightly short of expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, yielding 3.9%, with a payout ratio of 44.05%.

Brightlight Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 462,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,424,000. Smithfield Foods comprises approximately 6.4% of Brightlight Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Brightlight Capital Management LP owned 0.12% of Smithfield Foods at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFD. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth about $25,488,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth approximately $8,156,000. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,784,000. Kodai Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth $5,640,000. Finally, Seven Grand Managers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at $5,098,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $28.50 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $28.44.

Smithfield Foods Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $25.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,588,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,835. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.43 and a 1 year high of $26.07.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.62 billion. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.05%.

About Smithfield Foods

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.