HSBC Begins Coverage on Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD)

HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

SFD stock opened at $19.65 on Tuesday. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $18.43 and a 52 week high of $22.03.

Insider Transactions at Smithfield Foods

In other Smithfield Foods news, insider Tennille J. Checkovich purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $40,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,000. This represents a 20.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $260,869,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 367,025,753 shares in the company, valued at $7,340,515,060. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Smithfield Foods

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.