Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SFD. Weiss Ratings upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $29.88.

Smithfield Foods Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of SFD opened at $26.29 on Friday. Smithfield Foods has a 1 year low of $21.08 and a 1 year high of $29.81. The stock has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of -0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.89.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. Smithfield Foods’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Smithfield Foods will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smithfield Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortress Investment Group LLC raised its position in Smithfield Foods by 110.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Game Creek Capital LP acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,849,000. Monashee Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,226,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $595,000. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its position in Smithfield Foods by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 329,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,737,000 after buying an additional 115,700 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.