Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Smithfield Foods from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.38.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

NASDAQ:SFD opened at $27.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.05. The stock has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.12. Smithfield Foods has a fifty-two week low of $18.55 and a fifty-two week high of $27.19.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 24th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortress Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 110.3% during the third quarter. Fortress Investment Group LLC now owns 201,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,721,000 after buying an additional 105,464 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 1,029.5% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 172,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,057,000 after purchasing an additional 157,155 shares during the period. Monashee Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the third quarter worth $4,226,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter worth $595,000. Finally, Game Creek Capital LP acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,849,000.

About Smithfield Foods

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.