Smithfield Foods, Inc (SFD) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 10th

Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD) announced a dividend on Monday, March 24th, NASDAQ Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share on Tuesday, April 22nd. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th.

Smithfield Foods has a dividend payout ratio of 44.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SFD stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,137,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,278. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion and a PE ratio of 8.68. Smithfield Foods has a fifty-two week low of $18.43 and a fifty-two week high of $22.03.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.91 billion.

Insider Activity at Smithfield Foods

In other Smithfield Foods news, insider Tennille J. Checkovich purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $40,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,000. This trade represents a 20.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Shane Smith acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,400,000. This represents a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000 in the last ninety days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SFD shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. HSBC began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.86.

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.