Zimmer Partners LP Invests $56.09 Million in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Key Points

• Zimmer Partners LP has acquired 2,750,721 shares of Smithfield Foods, valued at approximately $56 million, making it the 26th largest position in their investment portfolio.
• Smithfield Foods recently posted quarterly earnings of $0.55 per share, slightly below the consensus estimate, but reported a revenue increase of 11% year-over-year to $3.79 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in a 4.3% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 44.05%.

Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,750,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,087,000. Smithfield Foods makes up about 1.1% of Zimmer Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Zimmer Partners LP owned about 0.70% of Smithfield Foods at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,687,000. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,621,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,488,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $20,331,000. Finally, Brightlight Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,424,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SFD. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.50 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $28.44.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ SFD traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $24.43. 1,406,723 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,869,878. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $24.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.64. The company has a market cap of $9.60 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $26.07.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.62 billion. Smithfield Foods's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Donovan Owens acquired 12,000 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $279,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 77,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,790,250. The trade was a 18.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hank Shenghua He acquired 10,000 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $232,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 87,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,750. This represents a 12.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 1,831,753 shares of company stock worth $42,588,257 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.