J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on SJM. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $132.00 to $126.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $132.00 to $123.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Argus dropped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $132.64.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $113.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. J. M. Smucker has a 52-week low of $105.69 and a 52-week high of $153.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $111.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.34.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 9.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that J. M. Smucker will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. This is an increase from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, CEO Mark T. Smucker sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.16, for a total value of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,757 shares in the company, valued at $8,675,871.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SJM. Boston Partners acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the first quarter valued at $364,990,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at about $157,077,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 363.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,274,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,258,000 after buying an additional 999,315 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21,858.1% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 680,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,027,000 after buying an additional 677,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,515,000 after buying an additional 518,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

About J. M. Smucker

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.