Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on SFD. Zacks Research upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.38.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFD opened at $26.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.12. Smithfield Foods has a one year low of $18.55 and a one year high of $26.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.04.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 24th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SFD. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 76.5% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Smithfield Foods by 88.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter worth $31,000.

Smithfield Foods News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Smithfield Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, stronger margins and dividend increase — Smithfield reported better-than-expected FQ4 results (revenue +7% to $4.23B; EPS beat) and the board raised the dividend to $1.25/share, supporting income-oriented investors and signaling cash-flow strength. Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and bullish notes are lifting sentiment — Zacks moved SFD from “Hold” to “Strong Buy” and Morgan Stanley published a note saying the stock is expected to rise, both providing fresh buy-side impetus. Zacks Upgrade Morgan Stanley Note
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat bullish technical/valuation case points to a clear upside path — coverage argues Smithfield is undervalued (~9x earnings vs. peers), highlights margin improvement, a raised dividend, and sees a path to ~$30/share driven by volume, analyst target increases and a breakout above prior highs. MarketBeat $30 Article
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition of Nathan’s Famous (expected H1 close) is accretive to branded packaged-meats margin — completing the $450M deal gives Smithfield full brand ownership, removes licensing fees and should boost margin and higher-margin packaged products. InsiderMonkey on Nathan’s Acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus is constructive but not unanimous — several services show a “moderate buy” consensus, indicating broad support but limited coverage depth; watch for follow-on revisions from major sell-side firms. Consensus Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and input-cost volatility could be a two-way force — an article notes rising food and plastics prices tied to geopolitical tensions (Iran war), which can lift selling prices but also raise processing/packaging costs; net impact depends on pass-through and mix. MSN Macro/Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Segment margin pressure remains in places — MarketBeat notes some margin pressure in Packaged Meats and Other segments (partly offset elsewhere), so investors should monitor whether operational improvements and pricing fully offset cost headwinds. MarketBeat on Margins

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.