Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases Shares of 400,000 Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD)

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

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFD. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth $2,587,000. Renaissance Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at $1,040,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at $213,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at $28,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SFD shares. HSBC started coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Smithfield Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smithfield Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFD traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,004,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 470,283. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $24.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.24. The company has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.60.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis.

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 issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is 44.05%.

Smithfield Foods Company 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.