Smithfield Foods, Inc (NASDAQ:SFD) Plans Dividend of $0.25

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

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

Smithfield Foods Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFD traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.71. 1,137,825 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 865,278. The company has a market cap of $7.75 billion and a PE ratio of 8.68. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $18.43 and a 52 week high of $22.03.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. 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 on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Smithfield Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.86.

Insider Activity at Smithfield Foods

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