SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 233,897 Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) by 848.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 261,461 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 233,897 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Smithfield Foods were worth $7,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Smithfield Foods by 94.0% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,343,000 after buying an additional 1,760,713 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,090,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,670,000 after buying an additional 253,286 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 653.3% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,605 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,560,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,849,000 after acquiring an additional 348,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Smithfield Foods by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,431,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,955,000 after purchasing an additional 109,254 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Smithfield Foods Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of SFD opened at $25.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81 and a beta of -0.49. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.08 and a 12-month high of $29.81.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.48%.The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is 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.