John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 672,774 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 126% from the previous session’s volume of 297,429 shares.The stock last traded at $130.56 and had previously closed at $127.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of John Bean Technologies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. CJS Securities assumed coverage on shares of John Bean Technologies in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company.

John Bean Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.24.

John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $453.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.20 million. John Bean Technologies had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 10.16%. John Bean Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that John Bean Technologies Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

John Bean Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. John Bean Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Bean Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in John Bean Technologies by 21.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 24,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,325 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in John Bean Technologies by 3.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 393,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,752,000 after buying an additional 11,474 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in John Bean Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $945,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in John Bean Technologies by 37.2% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 236,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,495,000 after acquiring an additional 64,280 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of John Bean Technologies by 139.3% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 7,399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.92% of the company’s stock.

John Bean Technologies Company Profile

John Bean Technologies Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers value-added processing that includes chilling, mixing/grinding, injecting, blending, marinating, tumbling, flattening, forming, portioning, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, extracting, pasteurizing, sterilizing, concentrating, high pressure processing, weighing, inspecting, filling, closing, sealing, end of line material handling, and packaging solutions to the food, beverage, and health market.