JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 146,086 Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) by 401.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,449 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 146,086 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Smithfield Foods were worth $4,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortress Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Smithfield Foods by 110.3% in the third quarter. Fortress Investment Group LLC now owns 201,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,721,000 after acquiring an additional 105,464 shares in the last quarter. Game Creek Capital LP purchased a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the third quarter worth about $1,849,000. Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,226,000. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 54.1% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 329,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,737,000 after acquiring an additional 115,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MASO CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,882,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Smithfield Foods from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research raised Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $29.38.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.8%

Smithfield Foods stock opened at $28.37 on Friday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.55 and a twelve month high of $28.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.15. The company has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of -0.33.

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

Smithfield Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be given a $0.3125 dividend. This is an increase from Smithfield Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.84%.

Smithfield Foods 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.