Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) Receives $28.31 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.3125.

Several analysts have weighed in on SFD shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price target on shares of Smithfield Foods and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SFD opened at $22.81 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $18.43 and a 52 week high of $26.07.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is 45.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $74,000. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,380,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $441,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $411,000.

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.