Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Invests $1.49 Million in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 66,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,487,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortress Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 110.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortress Investment Group LLC now owns 201,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,721,000 after purchasing an additional 105,464 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,023,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,858,000 after purchasing an additional 329,187 shares in the last quarter. Game Creek Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,849,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $595,000. Finally, Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,226,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research cut Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smithfield Foods has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.88.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of SFD stock opened at $26.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43 and a beta of -0.49. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.08 and a 1-year high of $29.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.83 and a 200 day moving average of $24.38.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.83%.

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.