J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen downgraded J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.00.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $111.68 on Tuesday. J. M. Smucker has a 12 month low of $98.77 and a 12 month high of $127.59. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.72.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,942. This trade represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,329.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is 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.