Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases Shares of 371,131 Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors bought 371,131 Smithfield Foods shares worth approximately $10.4 million, giving it a 0.09% stake. Several other hedge funds also increased their positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with five Buy ratings and one Hold rating producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.88.
• Smithfield declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share, equivalent to $1.25 annually and a 4.9% yield; the stock opened at $25.40 and has a market capitalization of roughly $10 billion.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 371,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,381,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.09% of Smithfield Foods as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 94.0% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company's stock worth $85,343,000 after buying an additional 1,760,713 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,090,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,670,000 after buying an additional 253,286 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 653.3% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,084,000 after buying an additional 1,443,605 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,560,647 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,849,000 after acquiring an additional 348,503 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,431,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,955,000 after acquiring an additional 109,254 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SFD. Bank of America lowered their price target on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Smithfield Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.88.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFD opened at $25.40 on Monday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.08 and a 1 year high of $29.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92 and a beta of -0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.57 and a 200 day moving average of $25.65.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is 48.83%.

Smithfield Foods 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.

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