DAVENPORT & Co LLC Boosts Stake in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Smithfield Foods, Inc. by 129.2%, owning 290,734 shares worth approximately $6.8 million at the end of the 2nd quarter.
• Brokerages are optimistic about Smithfield Foods, with price targets raised by both Barclays and Morgan Stanley to $30.00, as well as a consensus "Buy" rating from analysts.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.55 per share, slightly missing expectations, while revenue of $3.79 billion exceeded estimates, marking an 11% increase year-over-year.

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) by 129.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 290,734 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 163,860 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned 0.07% of Smithfield Foods worth $6,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SFD. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $102,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,156,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $591,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on SFD. Barclays boosted their price target 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 reissued a "buy" rating and set a $28.50 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smithfield Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.44.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SFD opened at $22.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.08. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion and a PE ratio of 9.83. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.43 and a fifty-two week high of $26.07.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.62 billion. Smithfield Foods's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is 44.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Hank Shenghua He acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $232,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 87,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,750. This represents a 12.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Donovan Owens acquired 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $279,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 77,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,790,250. The trade was a 18.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 1,831,753 shares of company stock worth $42,588,257 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Smithfield Foods Company 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.

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