Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Sunday.

SFD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price objective on Smithfield Foods and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.31.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 0.4%

Smithfield Foods stock opened at $24.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.62 billion and a PE ratio of 11.02. Smithfield Foods has a 1 year low of $18.43 and a 1 year high of $26.07. The company’s 50-day moving average is $22.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.14.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is presently 45.05%.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFD. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 94.0% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,713 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Smithfield Foods by 653.3% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,084,000 after buying an additional 1,443,605 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,295,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 583.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,212,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,461,000 after buying an additional 1,034,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 553.2% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,061,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,930,000 after acquiring an additional 899,200 shares in the last quarter.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

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.