Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Now Covered by HSBC

Stock analysts at HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a report issued on Tuesday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. HSBC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 48.41% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

SFD opened at $19.54 on Tuesday. Smithfield Foods has a 52-week low of $18.43 and a 52-week high of $22.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tennille J. Checkovich acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 $240,000. This trade represents a 20.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition 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 Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 367,025,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,340,515,060. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 59,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,180,000 over the last 90 days. 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.