Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) Research Coverage Started at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock.

Separately, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Smithfield Foods in a research note on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.67.

Smithfield Foods Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of Smithfield Foods stock opened at $20.60 on Monday. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $19.10 and a 52 week high of $22.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Smithfield Foods news, CFO Mark L. Hall bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,400,000. This represents a 16.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 364,518,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,290,376,340. The trade was a 0.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000. Corporate 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.