Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 16,740 Shares of B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 373,072 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,740 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in B&G Foods were worth $3,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BGS. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in B&G Foods by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of B&G Foods by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 248,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in B&G Foods by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 55,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in B&G Foods by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 18,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.15% of the company’s stock.

B&G Foods Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of BGS stock opened at $6.39 on Friday. B&G Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.12 and a 52-week high of $11.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $505.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.76 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.17 and its 200-day moving average is $8.49.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). B&G Foods had a positive return on equity of 6.97% and a negative net margin of 1.34%. The business had revenue of $461.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $473.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that B&G Foods, Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

B&G Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. B&G Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently -223.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BGS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of B&G Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other B&G Foods news, Director Stephen Sherrill acquired 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.63 per share, for a total transaction of $464,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 353,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,946.92. This trade represents a 24.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jordan E. Greenberg sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.33, for a total transaction of $66,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $550,571.35. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 90,111 shares of company stock valued at $593,054. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

B&G Foods Profile

B&G Foods, Inc manufactures, sells, and distributes a portfolio of shelf-stable and frozen foods, and household products in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company's products include frozen and canned vegetables, vegetables, canola and other cooking oils, vegetable shortening, cooking sprays, oatmeal and other hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, wine vinegar, maple syrups, molasses, salad dressings, pizza crusts, Mexican-style sauces, dry soups, taco shells and kits, salsas, pickles, peppers, tomato-based products, crackers, baking powder and soda, corn starch, nut clusters, and other specialty products.