Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Now Covered by UBS Group

Equities researchers at UBS Group began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a research report issued on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SFD. Citigroup began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Barclays began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

SFD stock traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $21.46. 286,150 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 966,025. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $19.10 and a 52 week high of $22.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Smithfield Foods news, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 364,518,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,290,376,340. This represents a 0.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tennille J. Checkovich acquired 2,000 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $40,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000. The trade was a 20.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 59,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,180,000. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.