Cinctive Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 167,768 Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• Cinctive Capital Management LP recently acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods, Inc., purchasing 167,768 shares valued at approximately $3.42 million during the first quarter.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for Smithfield Foods, with Morgan Stanley and Barclays setting targets of $30.00, while Zacks Research upgraded the stock to a "strong-buy" rating.
• Smithfield Foods announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%, with a current payout ratio of 44.05%.

Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 167,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,421,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $102,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of SFD stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $23.71. 844,763 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 846,392. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.43 and a 1 year high of $26.07. The company has a market cap of $9.32 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.44. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.56.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.62 billion. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.05%.

Insider Transactions at Smithfield Foods

In related news, insider Doug Sutton bought 3,920 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $91,140.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 68,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,602,390. This represents a 6.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Long Wan bought 1,800,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $41,850,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,060,000 shares in the company, valued at $117,645,000. The trade was a 55.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 1,831,753 shares of company stock worth $42,588,257 over the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Smithfield Foods 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.