Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Now Covered by UBS Group

Equities research analysts at UBS Group began coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating on the stock.

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

Smithfield Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFD traded up $0.41 on Monday, hitting $21.01. The stock had a trading volume of 577,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 969,317. Smithfield Foods has a twelve month low of $19.10 and a twelve month high of $22.03.

Insider Activity at Smithfield Foods

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

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.