Global Retirement Partners LLC Buys Shares of 74,819 Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• Global Retirement Partners purchased 74,819 shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.815 million. Several other institutional investors also initiated positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with five Buy ratings and one Sell rating, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $31.50.
• Smithfield reported quarterly EPS of $0.62, exceeding estimates by $0.02, while revenue fell 2.3% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share, representing a 5.5% annualized yield.

Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 74,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,815,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SFD shares. Bank of America cut their price target on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smithfield Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.50.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $22.61 on Tuesday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.08 and a fifty-two week high of $29.81. The business's fifty day moving average is $25.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44 and a beta of -0.44.

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

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.64%.

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.

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.