Smithfield Foods, Inc's Quiet Period Will End on March 10th (NASDAQ:SFD)

Smithfield Foods' (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) quiet period will expire on Monday, March 10th. Smithfield Foods had issued 26,086,958 shares in its initial public offering on January 28th. The total size of the offering was $521,739,160 based on an initial share price of $20.00. During Smithfield Foods' quiet period, underwriters and any insiders that worked on the IPO are restricted from issuing any earnings forecasts or research reports for the company because of regulations issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Following the end of the company's quiet period, the brokerages that served as underwriters will likely initiate research coverage on the company.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. 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 target price 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 target price on the stock. 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.67.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of SFD stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $20.87. 494,977 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 940,569. Smithfield Foods has a 12-month low of $19.10 and a 12-month high of $22.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Hank Shenghua He purchased 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $340,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 77,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,540,000. The trade was a 28.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of Smithfield Foods 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 364,518,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,290,376,340. This trade represents a 0.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale 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 currently owned by corporate 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.