Stephens Inc. AR Makes New Investment in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 45,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFD. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods during the first quarter worth $27,000. Amalgamated Bank bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. CWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at about $55,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SFD shares. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $28.50 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.31.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFD opened at $21.51 on Friday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.43 and a 52 week high of $26.07. The firm has a market cap of $8.46 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.22.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.62 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Keller D. Watts acquired 3,833 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $89,117.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 74,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,425.25. This represents a 5.40% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Doug Sutton acquired 3,920 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $91,140.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 68,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,602,390. This represents a 6.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 1,831,753 shares of company stock valued at $42,588,257. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Smithfield Foods 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.