Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Shares Cross Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.54 and traded as high as $19.78. Smithfield Foods shares last traded at $19.72, with a volume of 3,580,340 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on SFD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $21.00 price target on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Stephens restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Bank of America lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.67.

Smithfield Foods Stock Up 7.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65 and a beta of -0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.01. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 5.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is currently 54.82%.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at about $19,855,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,145,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,656,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 144.9% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 112,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,000 after acquiring an additional 66,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,815,000.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

Smithfield Foods, Inc is a food company engaged in pork production and the manufacture and sale of packaged meats. Its operations include hog production, fresh pork processing, and the preparation of bacon, ham, sausage, hot dogs, deli meats and other ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat products.

The company sells products under brands that include Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan’s Famous and Farmland, as well as through private-label and foodservice channels. Its products are distributed through grocery retailers, restaurants, foodservice operators and other commercial customers in the United States and international markets.

Founded in Smithfield, Virginia, in 1936, Smithfield Foods expanded through acquisitions and became one of the world’s largest pork processors and hog producers.