Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• Smithfield Foods shares fell to a new 52-week low of $18.31, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $21.17 and $24.57, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment has weakened, with Zacks downgrading the stock to “strong sell” and Bank of America moving to “neutral.” The consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $26.00.
• Despite revenue declining 2.3% year over year to $3.70 billion, Smithfield beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $0.62 versus $0.60 expected. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.3125, representing a 6.8% annualized yield.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $18.31 and last traded at $18.32, with a volume of 165,291 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SFD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $21.00 price target on Smithfield Foods in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on Smithfield Foods from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Smithfield Foods from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.00.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $21.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.85 and a beta of -0.41.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 6.84%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.64%.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new position in Smithfield Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $996,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 5,392.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 20,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 20,005 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in Smithfield Foods by 15,876.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,154 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 4,128 shares during the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,656,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in Smithfield Foods by 2,584.3% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 351,055 shares of the company's stock worth $8,517,000 after purchasing an additional 337,977 shares during the period.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

Smithfield Foods, Inc is a vertically integrated food company focused on pork production and packaged meats. Its operations include raising livestock, processing and packaging pork, and distributing fresh pork and prepared foods. The company's products include bacon, ham, sausage, hot dogs, lunch meats, fresh pork cuts and other refrigerated and shelf-stable meat products.

Smithfield markets products under brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Farmland, Nathan's Famous and Healthy Ones, as well as private-label offerings for retailers and food-service customers.

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