Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Smithfield Foods from “hold” to “strong sell,” contrasting with a broader analyst consensus of “Moderate Buy,” supported by five buy ratings and one sell rating.
• Analysts’ average price target is $31.50, with Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Bank of America maintaining positive ratings despite modestly lowering their targets.
• Smithfield reported quarterly earnings of $0.62 per share, beating estimates of $0.60, while revenue fell 2.3% year over year to $3.70 billion; shares opened at $22.76.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.50.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFD opened at $22.76 on Thursday. Smithfield Foods has a 1 year low of $21.08 and a 1 year high of $29.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49 and a beta of -0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $25.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.64.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 6.84%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Smithfield Foods will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SFD. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,023,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,858,000 after buying an additional 329,187 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,975,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 279,527 shares of the company's stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 63,824 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,351,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $10,381,000.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc NASDAQ: SFD is one of the world's largest pork processors and hog producers. Founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, the company has grown from a regional ham producer into a fully integrated food company offering a broad range of fresh pork, value-added meats and prepared foods. Its product portfolio includes bacon, ham, sausage, ribs and deli meats marketed under well-known brands such as Smithfield®, Nathan's Famous® and Eckrich®.

Smithfield operates a network of hog production facilities, processing plants and distribution centers across the United States, Europe and Latin America.

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