J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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. TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.00.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock traded down $0.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $109.27. 1,185,256 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,121,844. J. M. Smucker has a twelve month low of $98.77 and a twelve month high of $127.15. The company has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $106.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. Analysts forecast that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SJM. Norges Bank bought a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,978,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 40.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,169,000 after buying an additional 958,142 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 3,599.5% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 929,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,346,000 after purchasing an additional 904,278 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 12.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,111,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,145,000 after buying an additional 762,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,078,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,808,000 after purchasing an additional 468,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.