Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Citigroup

Investment analysts at Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 27.96% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America started coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

SFD opened at $21.10 on Monday. Smithfield Foods has a twelve month low of $19.10 and a twelve month high of $22.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Charles Shane Smith acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,000. This trade represents a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Tennille J. Checkovich bought 2,000 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $40,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,000. This trade represents a 20.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.