We recently published a list of 20 Stocks Insiders Were Buying In Q1 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Smithfield Foods, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:SFD) stands against other stocks insiders were buying in Q1 2025.
About 30 minutes before the market closed Monday, the broader market index was up 0.3%, while the blue-chip companies gained 0.9%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5%. Some stocks were recovering from Friday losses after inflation data came in higher than expected, coupled with weak consumer sentiment, which heightened concerns about the U.S. economy’s stability, according to Investopedia.
As investors react to daily market changes, ongoing uncertainty continues to affect the market. During such times, insider trading often garners attention, as executive purchases of company stock can signal optimism about the company’s prospects. However, insider sales do not always indicate a lack of confidence—they may be influenced by personal financial reasons or a need for diversification. Executives often follow pre-arranged plans, like 10b5-1, to ensure transparency. While insider trading can offer valuable insights, it should be considered alongside a company’s financial health, market conditions, and industry shifts.
Our Methodology
What are some of the stocks insiders have been buying the most in the first quarter of the year? To find out, we used Insider Monkey’s insider trading stock screener, focusing only on stocks where at least five insiders had purchased shares in January, February, and March. From there, we ranked the 20 stocks with the highest number of insiders purchasing shares.
Our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds, focusing on insider trading and stock picks from hedge fund investor newsletters and conferences. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
With each stock, we note the average price per share of these purchases and the stock’s market capitalization.
A loading dock filled with dry goods and frozen food being loaded onto a truck.
Smithfield Foods, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:SFD)
Market Cap: $7.95 billion
Number of insiders buying: 10
Smithfield Foods is a global food company and one of the world’s largest pork processors and hog producers. The Smithfield, Virginia-based company operates both domestically and internationally. Its Packaged Meats segment includes products like bacon, sausage, and hot dogs under brands such as Smithfield, Eckrich, and Nathan’s Famous, while its Fresh Pork segment processes live hogs into various pork cuts for retail, food service, and export markets. The company’s Hog Production segment raises hogs on both owned and contracted farms and also sells grains to external customers.
Smithfield Foods went public in January, and 10 insiders, including the CEO, and CFO, took part in its initial public offering by acquiring a total of $65.68 million worth of shares at a price of $20.00 per share. Since the offering, Smithfield Foods shares gained 2.43%, trading at $20.23 per share.
For the fiscal year 2024, the company disclosed net sales of $14.14 billion, compared to $14.64 billion in 2023. Operating profit was $1.12 billion, which compares to an operating loss of $56 million in the prior year. As of December 29, 2024, the company had $3.25 billion of available liquidity consisting of $943 million in cash and cash equivalents and $2,303 million of availability under its committed credit facilities. Smithfield Foods generated $916 million in cash flows from operating activities and ended the fiscal year 2024 with a net debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0.8x.
On March 24, the company’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share of common stock.
For the fiscal 2025, Smithfield Foods projects adjusted operating profit of between $1.10 billion to $1.30 billion and total sales to increase in the low-to-mid-single-digit percent range compared to fiscal year 2024.
In a recent development, the company announced it has been added to the Russell 1000 Index, a key benchmark for large-cap U.S. stocks.
Based on the estimates of five analysts, Smithfield Food stock has an average rating of “Strong Buy,” reports StockAnalysis. The 12-month price target is $28.60, reflecting a potential upside of 41.37% from the latest price.
Overall, SFD ranks 3rd on our list of stocks insiders were buying in Q1 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of SFD our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SFD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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