Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Releases Earnings Results

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01), Zacks reports.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFD opened at $19.60 on Tuesday. Smithfield Foods has a 52-week low of $18.43 and a 52-week high of $22.03.

Insider Activity

In other Smithfield Foods news, Director Hank Shenghua He bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $340,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 77,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,000. The trade was a 28.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $50,138,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 364,518,817 shares in the company, valued at $7,290,376,340. The trade was a 0.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 59,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,180,000. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SFD shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. HSBC assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $27.86.

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.