Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its stake in Smithfield Foods by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 51,977 shares and bringing its total to 166,250 shares valued at about $3.7 million.
• Smithfield Foods has seen mixed analyst action: some firms cut ratings or trimmed price targets, but the stock still carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $30.88.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also pays a 5.1% dividend yield based on its recent $0.3125 quarterly payout.

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,250 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,977 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Smithfield Foods were worth $3,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SFD. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Parallel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SFD. Zacks Research cut Smithfield Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.88.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ SFD opened at $24.67 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.17. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64 and a beta of -0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.08 and a 52-week high of $29.81.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.48%.The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is presently 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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