Brokerages Set Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD) PT at $27.86

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.86.

A number of research firms have commented on SFD. UBS Group began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Smithfield Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Insider Activity at Smithfield Foods

In other news, CEO Charles Shane Smith acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $600,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,400,000. The trade was a 33.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 13,043,479 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $260,869,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 367,025,753 shares in the company, valued at $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 three months, insiders have purchased 59,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,180,000. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFD opened at $20.11 on Friday. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $18.43 and a 52 week high of $22.03. The stock has a market cap of $7.91 billion and a P/E ratio of 8.86.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.91 billion.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is currently 44.05%.

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.