Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.86.

SFD has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $28.00 target price for the company.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFD traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.71. 257,653 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 809,688. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion and a PE ratio of 10.00. Smithfield Foods has a 52-week low of $18.43 and a 52-week high of $23.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $20.41.

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

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is 44.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smithfield Foods

In other Smithfield Foods news, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $50,138,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 364,518,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,290,376,340. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SFD. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth $27,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $102,000.

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.