GSA Capital Partners LLP Makes New $1.28 Million Investment in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners acquired 52,925 shares of Smithfield Foods valued at approximately $1.28 million during the second quarter. Several other institutional investors also established new positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with five Buy ratings and one Sell rating, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $31.50. However, Zacks Research downgraded the stock to “strong sell,” while Barclays and Bank of America trimmed their price targets.
• Smithfield reported quarterly EPS of $0.62, slightly ahead of estimates, on $3.70 billion in revenue, though sales declined 2.3% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3125, representing a 5.5% annualized yield.

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 52,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,284,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SFD. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SFD. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Smithfield Foods from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Smithfield Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFD opened at $22.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44 and a beta of -0.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.08 and a twelve month high of $29.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.64.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.64%.

About Smithfield Foods

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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