B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) Trading 1.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS)’s stock price traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.84 and last traded at $6.76. 253,597 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,096,514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of B&G Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.30.

B&G Foods Stock Up 2.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $543.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.12 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.82 and a 200-day moving average of $8.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $461.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $473.82 million. B&G Foods had a negative net margin of 1.34% and a positive return on equity of 6.97%. The business’s revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that B&G Foods, Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

B&G Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. B&G Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -223.52%.

Insider Activity at B&G Foods

In other news, EVP Eric H. Hart purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.25 per share, with a total value of $31,250.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 88,899 shares in the company, valued at $555,618.75. This trade represents a 5.96 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew D. Vogel acquired 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.36 per share, for a total transaction of $47,700.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,727.04. This represents a 25.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 90,111 shares of company stock worth $593,054 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of B&G Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in B&G Foods by 7.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 54,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 3,979 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of B&G Foods during the first quarter worth $184,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of B&G Foods by 3.2% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 78,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of B&G Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of B&G Foods by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the period. 66.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About B&G Foods

B&G Foods, Inc manufactures, sells, and distributes a portfolio of shelf-stable and frozen foods, and household products in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company's products include frozen and canned vegetables, vegetables, canola and other cooking oils, vegetable shortening, cooking sprays, oatmeal and other hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, wine vinegar, maple syrups, molasses, salad dressings, pizza crusts, Mexican-style sauces, dry soups, taco shells and kits, salsas, pickles, peppers, tomato-based products, crackers, baking powder and soda, corn starch, nut clusters, and other specialty products.