Reviewing Smithfield Foods (SFD) & The Competition

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) is one of 329 publicly-traded companies in the “Food Products” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Smithfield Foods to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Smithfield Foods has a beta of -0.44, meaning that its share price is 144% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smithfield Foods’ rivals have a beta of -3.85, meaning that their average share price is 485% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

39.2% of shares of all “Food Products” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Smithfield Foods shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.1% of shares of all “Food Products” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Smithfield Foods and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smithfield Foods	6.48%	15.54%	8.76%
Smithfield Foods Competitors	-16.22%	-138.12%	-3.97%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Smithfield Foods and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smithfield Foods	$15.56 billion	$987.00 million	9.80
Smithfield Foods Competitors	$13.87 billion	$716.84 million	-321.88

Smithfield Foods has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Smithfield Foods is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Smithfield Foods pays an annual dividend of $1.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Smithfield Foods pays out 48.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Food Products” companies pay a dividend yield of 11.7% and pay out 31.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Smithfield Foods lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Smithfield Foods and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smithfield Foods	0	1	5	0	2.83
Smithfield Foods Competitors	2324	8160	8228	392	2.35

Smithfield Foods currently has a consensus target price of $30.88, suggesting a potential upside of 23.11%. As a group, “Food Products” companies have a potential upside of 13.08%. Given Smithfield Foods’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Smithfield Foods is more favorable than its rivals.

Summary

Smithfield Foods beats its rivals on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

Smithfield Foods, Inc. produces and markets a variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. The Company operates in four segments: Pork, Hog Production, International and Corporate, each of which consists of a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments. The Pork segment consists mainly of its three wholly owned United States fresh pork and packaged meats subsidiaries: The Smithfield Packing Company, Inc. (Smithfield Packing), Farmland Foods, Inc. (Farmland Foods) and John Morrell Food Group (John Morrell). The Hog Production segment consists of the Company’s hog production operations located in the United States. On September 2012 (fiscal 2013), the Company acquired a 70% controlling interest in American Skin Food Group, LLC. Effective September 26, 2013, Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd merged with Smithfield Foods Inc, a producer and wholesaler of pork meat products.