Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $18.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.06 and a beta of -0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.01. Smithfield Foods has a 12 month low of $18.91 and a 12 month high of $29.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 6.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Smithfield Foods will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $33,145,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,815,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at about $6,656,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter worth about $18,975,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Smithfield Foods by 29.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 279,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 63,824 shares during the last quarter.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc is a food company focused on pork production and processing. Its operations include raising hogs, processing fresh pork, and producing packaged meats and prepared foods for retail, foodservice and other customers.

The company markets products under brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Farmland, Gwaltney, John Morrell and Healthy Ones. Its offerings include fresh pork cuts, bacon, ham, sausage, lunch meats, hot dogs and other prepared pork products.

Founded in 1936 and headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, Smithfield serves customers in the United States and international markets through its production, processing and distribution network.