Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 63,533 Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) by 38.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 102,717 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,533 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Smithfield Foods were worth $2,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Smithfield Foods Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of SFD opened at $26.26 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $25.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.39. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.08 and a 12 month high of $29.81. The company has a market capitalization of $10.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26 and a beta of -0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business 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 business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Smithfield Foods's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is currently 48.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Zacks Research downgraded Smithfield Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.88.

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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