Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) by 45.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 166,250 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 51,977 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Smithfield Foods were worth $3,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Smithfield Foods by 94.0% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,713 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,291,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 583.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,212,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 553.2% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,061,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,930,000 after purchasing an additional 899,200 shares during the last quarter.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of SFD opened at $24.67 on Friday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.08 and a twelve month high of $29.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64 and a beta of -0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.48%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SFD. Barclays boosted their target price on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.88.

About Smithfield Foods

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.