23,130 Shares in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD Acquired by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 1,029.5% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 172,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,057,000 after acquiring an additional 157,155 shares during the last quarter. Monashee Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $4,226,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $419,000. ING Groep NV grew its position in Smithfield Foods by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 329,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,737,000 after purchasing an additional 115,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Smithfield Foods by 18.8% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 345,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,102,000 after purchasing an additional 54,734 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SFD. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.90.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of SFD opened at $23.37 on Friday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.55 and a twelve month high of $26.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.10.

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.