Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD Holdings Trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its Smithfield Foods stake by 62.1% in the first quarter, selling 112,708 shares and retaining 68,666 shares worth approximately $1.92 million. Other institutions, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Arrowstreet Capital, increased or initiated positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with five Buy ratings and one Sell rating producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $31.50. However, Zacks Research downgraded the stock to “strong sell,” while Barclays lowered its target to $31.
• Smithfield reported quarterly EPS of $0.62, beating estimates by $0.02, on revenue of $3.70 billion, though revenue declined 2.3% year over year. The company declared a $0.3125 quarterly dividend, equating to a 5.5% yield based on the reported $22.53 share price.

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) by 62.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,666 shares of the company's stock after selling 112,708 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in Smithfield Foods were worth $1,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at $3,195,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $485,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Smithfield Foods by 7,016.0% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,363 shares of the company's stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 35,852 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Smithfield Foods by 267.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 53,025 shares of the company's stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 38,580 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Smithfield Foods by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 323,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,617,000 after acquiring an additional 42,576 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued 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 target price of $31.50.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ SFD opened at $22.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41 and a beta of -0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.64. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.08 and a 52 week high of $29.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.56.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Smithfield Foods's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

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