Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on SFD. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.88.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $26.25 on Monday. Smithfield Foods has a twelve month low of $21.08 and a twelve month high of $29.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25 and a beta of -0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.35.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. Smithfield Foods’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Smithfield Foods will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortress Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 110.3% during the third quarter. Fortress Investment Group LLC now owns 201,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,721,000 after purchasing an additional 105,464 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,023,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,858,000 after purchasing an additional 329,187 shares in the last quarter. Game Creek Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the third quarter worth about $1,849,000. Monashee Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the third quarter worth about $4,226,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $595,000.

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.