Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $24.56 and traded as high as $26.45. Smithfield Foods shares last traded at $26.43, with a volume of 1,668,178 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.88.

Smithfield Foods Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.56. The firm has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is presently 48.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio lifted its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 76.5% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000.

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.