Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 1,401,313 Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFDFree Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,401,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,291,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.36% of Smithfield Foods as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Smithfield Foods Stock Up 1.6%

SFD opened at $26.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.67. 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 $10.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42 and a beta of -0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFDGet Free Report) last issued 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. Smithfield Foods had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.48%.The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Smithfield Foods’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SFD shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.88.

Get Our Latest Research Report on SFD

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD)

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