Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $6.58 Million Position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) by 71.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 235,385 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,405 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Smithfield Foods were worth $6,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SFD. Millennium Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $85,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,713 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,090,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,670,000 after purchasing an additional 253,286 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Smithfield Foods by 653.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Smithfield Foods by 28.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Smithfield Foods by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,431,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,955,000 after buying an additional 109,254 shares during the last quarter.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFD opened at $26.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $10.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39 and a beta of -0.41. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.08 and a 12 month high of $29.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.55.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 48.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SFD shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.88.

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.