The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.36.

CPB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

Campbell Soup Trading Up 0.6 %

Campbell Soup stock opened at $42.04 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15. Campbell Soup has a 12-month low of $36.92 and a 12-month high of $52.81.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.17%.

Insider Transactions at Campbell Soup

In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $83,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,486.90. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Campbell Soup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Campbell Soup by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,625,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $989,440,000 after purchasing an additional 447,203 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,581,000 after acquiring an additional 298,203 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,273,000 after acquiring an additional 531,281 shares in the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 6,925,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,034,000 after acquiring an additional 35,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,323,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,420,000 after acquiring an additional 57,717 shares in the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Campbell Soup Company Profile

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.