J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) shares reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $73.76 and last traded at $74.2210, with a volume of 614511 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on JJSF shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of J & J Snack Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.00.

J & J Snack Foods Trading Down 0.1%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80 and a beta of 0.34.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $343.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.95 million. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 3.92% and a return on equity of 8.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

J & J Snack Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. J & J Snack Foods’s payout ratio is currently 101.91%.

J & J Snack Foods declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 562.8% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in J & J Snack Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $280,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in J & J Snack Foods by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,072,000 after acquiring an additional 19,876 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 837.7% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 26,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 23,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 150,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,630,000 after buying an additional 64,189 shares during the period. 76.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J & J Snack Foods Company Profile

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ: JJSF) is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of branded snack foods and frozen beverages. Headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey, the company develops, produces and markets a broad array of proprietary and licensed products for retail, concession and foodservice customers. Its offerings span soft pretzels, frozen novelties, real Italian ice, churros and packaged beverages under well-known names such as ICEE, SuperPretzel, Luigi’s and ChurroMan.

Founded in 1971 by Gerald B.