Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD Stock: Inspire Investing LLC Lowers Position

Key Points

• Inspire Investing cut its Smithfield Foods stake by 78.9% in the third quarter, selling 86,663 shares and retaining 23,207 shares valued at approximately $434,000. Several other institutions, including BlackRock and Bank of America, established or increased positions.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with three Buy, one Hold and three Sell ratings. Smithfield has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $24.67.
• Smithfield reported quarterly EPS of $0.26, slightly ahead of estimates, on $3.44 billion in revenue—down 8.3% year over year. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3125, equivalent to a 6.8% annualized yield.

Inspire Investing LLC decreased its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) by 78.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,207 shares of the company's stock after selling 86,663 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Smithfield Foods were worth $434,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SFD. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,145,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 232.4% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 831,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,246,000 after purchasing an additional 581,100 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the second quarter worth $19,855,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at approximately $18,975,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $16,444,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SFD shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Smithfield Foods from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $21.00 price target on Smithfield Foods in a report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed a "reduce" rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.67.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SFD opened at $18.34 on Monday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.91 and a fifty-two week high of $29.81. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04 and a beta of -0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.39.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.01. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.82%.

Smithfield Foods Profile

Smithfield Foods, Inc is a food company engaged in pork production and the manufacture and sale of packaged meats. Its operations include hog production, fresh pork processing, and the preparation of bacon, ham, sausage, hot dogs, deli meats and other ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat products.

The company sells products under brands that include Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous and Farmland, as well as through private-label and foodservice channels. Its products are distributed through grocery retailers, restaurants, foodservice operators and other commercial customers in the United States and international markets.

Founded in Smithfield, Virginia, in 1936, Smithfield Foods expanded through acquisitions and became one of the world's largest pork processors and hog producers.

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