Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Hsbc Global Res

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) was upgraded by Hsbc Global Res to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

SFD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:SFD opened at $19.78 on Tuesday. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $18.43 and a 52 week high of $22.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tennille J. Checkovich bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $40,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $240,000. The trade was a 20.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 13,043,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $260,869,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 367,025,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,340,515,060. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

Smithfield Foods, Inc produces and markets a variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. The Company operates in four segments: Pork, Hog Production, International and Corporate, each of which consists of a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments.