J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Upgraded 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 report issued on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SJM. Stifel Nicolaus raised J. M. Smucker from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $113.60 on Monday. J. M. Smucker has a fifty-two week low of $107.33 and a fifty-two week high of $159.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.21.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.21. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -481.81%.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SJM. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 0.7% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 108,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,674,000 after acquiring an additional 18,213 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 56.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 196,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,780,000 after buying an additional 71,097 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 118.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,129,000 after buying an additional 26,447 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 1st quarter worth $320,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J. M. Smucker Company Profile

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.