Chicago - Dain Bosworth analyst Bonnie Wittenburg said Monday she cut her rating on Smithfield Foods Inc to neutral from buy, citing price and uncertainty over Asia.
-- Smithfield's stock price is up 78 percent this year. "When we factor in appreciation with our worries over potential demand fallout from Asia, we'd rather sit on the sidelines for awhile," Wittenburg said in a release.
-- Wittenburg said hog supplies are increasing, which tends to reduce the raw material cost of pigs and eanble processing plants to run more efficiently. But the pork market may become demand-driven.
-- Any reduction in overall demand abroad will make more meat available in the United States and presumably pressure meat prices," Wittenburg added. "Ample supplies of competing meats also exist."
Press for Information on Placing Your Ad Here
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
Web Site: http://www.spcnetwork.com/mii