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

Key Points

• Smithfield Foods, Inc. has received an average consensus rating of "Buy" from nine research firms, with a target price of $28.14.
• Recently, hedge funds have been increasing their stakes in Smithfield Foods, indicating growing institutional interest.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting a yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 44.05%.

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.4375.

SFD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 target price on shares of Smithfield Foods and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:SFD traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.30. The company had a trading volume of 722,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 813,549. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $18.43 and a 52 week high of $25.99. The firm has a market cap of $9.95 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $24.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.12.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 EPS 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is presently 44.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth $56,087,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth $46,687,000. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth $35,621,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $31,295,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter worth $25,488,000.

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.