Teacher Retirement System of Texas Takes Position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,156,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.10% of Smithfield Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $2,587,000. Renaissance Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $1,040,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $213,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Smithfield Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Smithfield Foods stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.45. 235,776 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 480,153. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $23.08. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.43 and a 12-month high of $24.47.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.05%.

Smithfield Foods Profile

Smithfield Foods, Inc produces and markets a variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. The Company operates in four segments: Pork, Hog Production, International and Corporate, each of which consists of a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments.