Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BNP Paribas

Stock analysts at BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a note issued to investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas’ price target indicates a potential upside of 9.00% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on SFD. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.67.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of SFD opened at $21.10 on Monday. Smithfield Foods has a one year low of $19.10 and a one year high of $22.03.

Insider Activity

In other Smithfield Foods news, CFO Mark L. Hall purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,400,000. This trade represents a 16.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tennille J. Checkovich purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $40,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000. This represents a 20.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000 over the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.