Brokerages Set Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD) Target Price at $27.86

Shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.86.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SFD shares. UBS Group began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFD opened at $19.14 on Friday. Smithfield Foods has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $22.03.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01).

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark L. Hall purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,400,000. This represents a 16.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $50,138,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 364,518,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,290,376,340. This represents a 0.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.