Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating on the stock.

SFD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America assumed 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. Barclays initiated coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SFD stock opened at $20.60 on Monday. Smithfield Foods has a fifty-two week low of $19.10 and a fifty-two week high of $22.03.

Insider Activity

In other Smithfield Foods news, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 13,043,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $260,869,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 367,025,753 shares in the company, valued at $7,340,515,060. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles Shane Smith acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $600,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,400,000. The trade was a 33.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 59,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,180,000. 1.79% of the stock is owned by 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.