State of Alaska Department of Revenue Takes $3.29 Million Position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 140,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,287,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the third quarter worth $292,000. Renaissance Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Smithfield Foods by 105.6% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 57,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 29,475 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Smithfield Foods by 20.1% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 26,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 4,437 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Smithfield Foods by 88.2% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Smithfield Foods by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 345,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,102,000 after buying an additional 54,734 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 target price on Smithfield Foods and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.31.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Smithfield Foods stock opened at $22.75 on Tuesday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $18.43 and a one year high of $26.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.17. The company has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. Smithfield Foods’s payout ratio is presently 45.05%.

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.