Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Research Coverage Started at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock.

SFD has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFD opened at $20.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.91 billion and a P/E ratio of 8.86. Smithfield Foods has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $22.03.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.91 billion.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.05%.

Insider Activity at Smithfield Foods

In other news, CEO Charles Shane Smith acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 120,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,000. The trade was a 33.33 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Hank Shenghua He bought 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $340,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 77,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,540,000. This trade represents a 28.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000 in the last ninety days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Smithfield Foods

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.