Bank of America Cuts Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Price Target to $28.00

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) had its target price decreased by Bank of America from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock.

SFD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.50 price target (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.44.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SFD stock opened at $21.16 on Wednesday. Smithfield Foods has a 52-week low of $18.43 and a 52-week high of $26.07. The stock has a market cap of $8.32 billion and a PE ratio of 9.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.11.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.62 billion. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is currently 44.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Long Wan acquired 1,800,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $41,850,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,060,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,645,000. The trade was a 55.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Donovan Owens acquired 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $279,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,790,250. This represents a 18.46% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 1,831,753 shares of company stock worth $42,588,257 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFD. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $2,587,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $8,156,000.

About Smithfield Foods

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.