Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.48%.Smithfield Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $24.22 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44 and a beta of -0.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.66. Smithfield Foods has a 52-week low of $21.08 and a 52-week high of $29.81.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is presently 48.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smithfield Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,760,713 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 653.3% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,605 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 4th quarter worth $31,291,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $33,145,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Smithfield Foods by 583.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,212,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,461,000 after buying an additional 1,034,814 shares during the last quarter.

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.