Insider Buying: Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Insider Purchases 3,920 Shares of Stock

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 bought 3,920 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $91,140.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 68,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,602,390. This represents a 6.03% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of SFD traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.43. 1,406,723 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,835,689. The company's fifty day moving average price is $24.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.64. The company has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $26.07.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.62 billion. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is presently 44.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 24.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 41,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $239,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Walnut Level Capital LLC increased its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 129.6% during the second quarter. Walnut Level Capital LLC now owns 114,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,701,000 after buying an additional 64,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,676,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $28.50 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods presently 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.