Insider Buying: Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Director Buys 10,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Hank Shenghua He, a director at Smithfield Foods, purchased 10,000 shares at an average price of $23.25, increasing his total holdings to 87,000 shares valued at approximately $2 million.
• Smithfield Foods reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.55, slightly missing analysts' expectations, but showed a revenue increase of 11% year-over-year, totaling $3.79 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.3%, with a dividend payout ratio of 44.05%.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) Director Hank Shenghua He purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $232,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 87,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,022,750. This trade represents a 12.99% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFD traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.43. 1,406,723 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,835,689. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.76. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.43 and a twelve month high of $26.07. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.63.

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

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is currently 44.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SFD. Renaissance Capital LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth $1,040,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth $213,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth $28,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth $2,587,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth $102,000.

About Smithfield Foods

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.