Brokerages Set Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Target Price at $31.00

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One 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 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

Several brokerages have issued reports on SFD. 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 report on Wednesday, September 9th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the second quarter worth $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in Smithfield Foods by 36.8% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the second quarter valued at $58,000.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFD opened at $19.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of 7.40 and a beta of -0.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Smithfield Foods has a 1-year low of $19.61 and a 1-year high of $29.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.44 and its 200-day moving average is $25.12.

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

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.64%.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

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.