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Friday, March 8, 2013

Shareholder urges Smithfield Foods to consider split, (NYSE: SFD)

Continental Grain Co, one of the biggest shareholders of Smithfield Foods Inc, has sent a letter to the board urging it to consider splitting the leading U.S. hog producer into three units. In a letter filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Continental Grain also said Smithfield should consider initiating a regular cash dividend."There should be a regular dividend along the lines of what competitors like Hormel or Tyson pay, which would encourage a more stable shareholder base, while returning capital to shareholders," Continental Grain, which owns about 6 percent of Smithfield stock, said in the letter.It noted that since the current Smithfield management took over in mid-2006, the company's stock has declined by 26 percent while, including dividends, Tyson has returned about 70 percent and Hormel has returned 131 percent.The shareholder said it was willing to meet with Smithfield's board and management to discuss its plan for the company.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. produces and markets a variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. Shares of SFD traded higher by 10.67% or $2.38/share to $24.68. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $17.55 and as high as $25.03. On average, 1875390 shares of SFD exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 9608756.



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