Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $6.58 Million Holdings in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) by 71.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 235,385 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,405 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of Smithfield Foods worth $6,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $1,456,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $3,195,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $485,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 7,016.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 35,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 267.1% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 53,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after buying an additional 38,580 shares during the last quarter.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

NASDAQ:SFD opened at $26.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.67 and a 200-day moving average of $25.55. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.08 and a 52 week high of $29.81. The company has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39 and a beta of -0.41.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.06. Smithfield Foods had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is presently 48.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SFD. Bank of America decreased their target price on Smithfield Foods from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smithfield Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.88.

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.