Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price target on shares of Smithfield Foods and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.31.

Smithfield Foods Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ SFD opened at $23.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.40 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.77. Smithfield Foods has a twelve month low of $18.43 and a twelve month high of $26.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.48 and a 200 day moving average of $23.13.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.58 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 94.0% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,713 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Smithfield Foods by 653.3% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,605 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at about $31,295,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Smithfield Foods by 583.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,212,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,461,000 after buying an additional 1,034,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in Smithfield Foods by 553.2% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,061,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,930,000 after buying an additional 899,200 shares in the last quarter.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

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.