Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $23.88 and last traded at $23.87, with a volume of 384583 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SFD shares. HSBC started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion and a PE ratio of 10.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.78.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. The firm's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Renaissance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,040,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,587,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $102,000.

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.