Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $24.56 and traded as high as $26.45. Smithfield Foods shares last traded at $26.43, with a volume of 1,668,178 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped 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 lowered Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.88.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.58. The stock has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50 and a beta of -0.49.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.83%.

Institutional Trading of Smithfield Foods

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Smithfield Foods by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,634,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,343,000 after buying an additional 1,760,713 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its position in Smithfield Foods by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,090,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,670,000 after buying an additional 253,286 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Smithfield Foods by 653.3% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,664,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,084,000 after buying an additional 1,443,605 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Smithfield Foods by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,560,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,849,000 after buying an additional 348,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Smithfield Foods by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,431,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,955,000 after buying an additional 109,254 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.