Insider Buying: Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Director Acquires 1,800,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Long Wan of Smithfield Foods purchased 1.8 million shares at an average price of $23.25, increasing their total holdings to 5.06 million shares and reflecting a 55.21% increase in their position.
• Smithfield Foods reported earnings per share of $0.55, slightly below analysts' expectation of $0.56, despite achieving revenue of $3.79 billion, which was above the forecast of $3.62 billion.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.25 per share, yielding 4.3% annually, with a payout ratio of 44.05%.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) Director Long Wan acquired 1,800,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $41,850,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,060,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $117,645,000. The trade was a 55.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $24.36. The stock had a trading volume of 622,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 872,480. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $24.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.59. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $18.43 and a one year high of $26.07.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.62 billion. The firm'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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is currently 44.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,156,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. HBK Investments L P acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,078,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $255,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.