Zimmer Partners LP Acquires New Shares 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 bought 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 disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,750,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,087,000. Smithfield Foods makes up 1.1% of Zimmer Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Zimmer Partners LP owned approximately 0.70% of Smithfield Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFD. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $46,687,000. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $35,621,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $25,488,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $20,331,000. Finally, Brightlight Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $9,424,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $28.50 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smithfield Foods

In other news, insider Donovan Owens acquired 12,000 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $279,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 77,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,790,250. This trade represents a 18.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Long Wan acquired 1,800,000 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $41,850,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,060,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $117,645,000. The trade was a 55.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 1,831,753 shares of company stock valued at $42,588,257 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ SFD traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,406,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,812. The stock has a market cap of $9.60 billion and a PE ratio of 10.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.61. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.43 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.62 billion. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is currently 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.