273,732 Shares in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD Bought by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 273,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,829,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Smithfield Foods by 94.0% during 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 last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 653.3% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,605 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,291,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 583.6% in the third 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 period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 553.2% in the third 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 period.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 1.3%

Smithfield Foods stock opened at $26.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.39. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.08 and a 1-year high of $29.81. The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20 and a beta of -0.41. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Smithfield Foods’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.88.

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.