60,961 Shares in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD Purchased by WINTON GROUP Ltd

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 60,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,087,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth approximately $46,687,000. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth $35,621,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at about $31,295,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $20,331,000.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SFD stock opened at $21.61 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.33. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.43 and a 1 year high of $26.07. The firm has a market cap of $8.50 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.58 billion. Smithfield Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SFD shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research cut Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 target price on Smithfield Foods and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.50 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.31.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

Smithfield Foods, Inc produces and markets a variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. The Company operates in four segments: Pork, Hog Production, International and Corporate, each of which consists of a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments.