Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Stock Price

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Bank of America from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 30.32% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.88.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Smithfield Foods stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $24.55. 174,626 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,312,411. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58 and a beta of -0.40. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.08. Smithfield Foods has a 12 month low of $21.08 and a 12 month high of $29.81.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.48%.The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Smithfield Foods will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000.

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.