J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $104.83 and last traded at $104.89, with a volume of 114548 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $107.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SJM. TD Cowen lowered J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $121.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.33.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.28.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is 87.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,116,942. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,329.4% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 212.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in J. M. Smucker during the third quarter worth $40,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About J. M. Smucker

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients.