Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.86.

SFD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Smithfield Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFD. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $56,087,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth about $46,687,000. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth about $35,621,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth about $25,488,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth about $20,331,000.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of SFD traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.98. The company had a trading volume of 295,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,586. The company has a market cap of $9.03 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.12. Smithfield Foods has a one year low of $18.43 and a one year high of $23.62. The business's fifty day moving average price is $21.61.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. Smithfield Foods's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is presently 44.05%.

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.