Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Insider Doug Sutton Buys 3,920 Shares

Key Points

• Smithfield Foods insider Doug Sutton purchased 3,920 shares at an average price of $23.25, increasing his total ownership to 68,920 shares valued at $1.6 million.
• The company reported earnings of $0.55 per share, slightly missing the estimate of $0.56, while revenue grew 11% year-over-year to $3.79 billion.
• Smithfield Foods declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.3% and a payout ratio of 44.05%.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) insider Doug Sutton purchased 3,920 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $91,140.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 68,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,602,390. The trade was a 6.03% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of SFD traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $23.33. The stock had a trading volume of 3,509,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 847,136. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.28. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.43 and a 1-year high of $26.07.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.62 billion. Smithfield Foods's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at about $213,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $8,156,000. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. HBK Investments L P purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $4,078,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth $255,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $28.50 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.44.

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.

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