Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Investment analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 42.86% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on SFD. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Trading Up 2.9 %

Smithfield Foods stock opened at $19.60 on Tuesday. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01).

Insider Buying and Selling at Smithfield Foods

In other news, insider Tennille J. Checkovich bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $40,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,000. The trade was a 20.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 13,043,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $260,869,580.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 367,025,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,340,515,060. The trade was a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000 in the last ninety days. 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.