Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

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

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFD opened at $19.60 on Tuesday. Smithfield Foods has a one year low of $18.43 and a one year high of $22.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SFD shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $27.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smithfield Foods

In other Smithfield Foods news, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of Smithfield Foods 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 364,518,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,290,376,340. The trade was a 0.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tennille J. Checkovich acquired 2,000 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $40,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $240,000. This represents a 20.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000. 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.