Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $3.71 Million Position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 166,250 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring 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.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SFD. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 82.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFD opened at $25.12 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.03. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.08 and a fifty-two week high of $29.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.81 and a beta of -0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

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

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 48.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on SFD. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.88.

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.