Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $23.45 and last traded at $22.60, with a volume of 929839 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion and a PE ratio of 9.92. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $20.25.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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. The business's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is currently 44.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 364,518,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,290,376,340. The trade was a 0.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFD. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth $25,488,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth about $8,156,000. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at about $7,784,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,587,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,479,000.

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.