Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $31.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Smithfield Foods traded as high as $26.10 and last traded at $25.9910, with a volume of 991794 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.99.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on SFD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smithfield Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.38.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio grew its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 76.5% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.00. The company has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.12.

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

Smithfield Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be issued a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Smithfield Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.05%.

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.