Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Insider Keller D. Watts Acquires 3,833 Shares

Key Points

• Insider Keller Watts acquired 3,833 shares of Smithfield Foods stock at an average price of $23.25 per share, totaling approximately $89,117.
• Smithfield Foods recently reported earnings of $0.55 per share, slightly below analysts' expectations, but achieved a revenue of $3.79 billion, exceeding projections and representing an 11% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equating to an annual yield of 4.3% and a payout ratio of 44.05%.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) insider Keller D. Watts purchased 3,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $89,117.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 74,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,740,425.25. This trade represents a 5.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SFD traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,406,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,835,689. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.61 and a 200 day moving average of $22.64. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $26.07. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.62 billion. Smithfield Foods's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 44.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at $213,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at $8,156,000. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at $28,000. HBK Investments L P purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at $4,078,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at $255,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $28.50 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.