Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 66,588 Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 66,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,487,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 76.5% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Smithfield Foods by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the period.

Smithfield Foods Stock Up 1.7%

Smithfield Foods stock opened at $26.70 on Thursday. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.08 and a 52 week high of $29.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43 and a beta of -0.49.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Smithfield Foods’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Smithfield Foods, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Smithfield Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SFD shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Smithfield Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research lowered Smithfield Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Smithfield Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.88.

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.