Hsbc Global Res Upgrades Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) to "Strong-Buy"

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on SFD. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. HSBC assumed coverage on Smithfield Foods in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $27.86.

Smithfield Foods Price Performance

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock traded up $0.55 on Tuesday, reaching $19.60. 969,461 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 851,794. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $18.43 and a 52 week high of $22.03.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $260,869,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 367,025,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,340,515,060. The trade was 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Tennille J. Checkovich bought 2,000 shares of Smithfield Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $40,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 12,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $240,000. The trade was a 20.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000. Insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

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.