Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD) Receives $27.86 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.86.

SFD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. HSBC started coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Smithfield Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Smithfield Foods Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $23.34 on Wednesday. Smithfield Foods has a 1-year low of $18.43 and a 1-year high of $23.62. The company has a market cap of $9.18 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.28. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.70.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.56 billion. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 44.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFD. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $394,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $56,087,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $3,195,000. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $35,621,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $46,687,000.

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.