Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after DA Davidson lowered their price target on the stock from $184.00 to $168.00. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marzetti traded as low as $146.22 and last traded at $146.41, with a volume of 382822 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $151.45.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on MZTI. Wall Street Zen lowered Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.67.

Institutional Trading of Marzetti

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pullen Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at $1,029,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,014,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marzetti Stock Down 3.0%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $162.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.29. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 0.40.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.08). Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 9.25%.The business had revenue of $509.77 million for the quarter. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.26%.

Marzetti Company Profile

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.