Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have given Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) an average recommendation of "Buy", with ten analysts covering the stock—seven issuing buy ratings and two a strong buy rating.
• The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the last quarter, which was slightly below the consensus estimate of $0.56, but its revenue of $3.79 billion exceeded expectations.
• Smithfield Foods recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a 4.2% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 44.05%.

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.4375.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.50 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smithfield Foods

In other Smithfield Foods news, Director Hank Shenghua He purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $232,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 87,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,750. The trade was a 12.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Long Wan bought 1,800,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $41,850,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,060,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $117,645,000. This represents a 55.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 1,831,753 shares of company stock worth $42,588,257. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFD. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at $29,000. CWM LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at $30,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at $34,000.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

SFD stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.85. 1,294,377 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 849,549. Smithfield Foods has a one year low of $18.43 and a one year high of $26.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion and a PE ratio of 10.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.56.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.62 billion. The company's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.05%.

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.