Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a report issued on Tuesday morning. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 364,518,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,290,376,340. The trade was a 0.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Shane Smith bought 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,400,000. The trade was a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Smithfield Foods Company Profile

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.