Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.8750.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFD opened at $26.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Smithfield Foods has a 52-week low of $21.08 and a 52-week high of $29.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.63. The firm has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25 and a beta of -0.49.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.48%.The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Smithfield Foods will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is currently 48.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFD. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,713 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,090,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,670,000 after acquiring an additional 253,286 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 653.3% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,605 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,560,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,849,000 after acquiring an additional 348,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,431,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,955,000 after acquiring an additional 109,254 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.