Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD Shares Bought by Fourth Sail Capital LP

Fourth Sail Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,140,619 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,038 shares during the period. Smithfield Foods accounts for about 4.1% of Fourth Sail Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Fourth Sail Capital LP’s holdings in Smithfield Foods were worth $25,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,343,000 after buying an additional 1,760,713 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,836,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,126,000 after buying an additional 776,330 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $39,084,000 after buying an additional 1,443,605 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,560,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,849,000 after buying an additional 348,503 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,431,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,955,000 after buying an additional 109,254 shares during the period.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SFD opened at $26.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46 and a beta of -0.49. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $21.08 and a one year high of $29.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.76.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.88.

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.