B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) Trading 3.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS)’s share price was up 3.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $6.73 and last traded at $6.68. Approximately 1,209,889 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 1,102,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BGS. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reduced their price target 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. StockNews.com raised B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of B&G Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, B&G Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.30.

B&G Foods Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $528.82 million, a P/E ratio of -19.65 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $7.82 and a 200 day moving average of $8.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

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

B&G Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.38%. B&G Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -223.53%.

Insider Activity at B&G Foods

In related news, EVP Eric H. Hart purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,250.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 88,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $555,618.75. This represents a 5.96 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jordan E. Greenberg sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.33, for a total value of $66,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $550,571.35. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 90,111 shares of company stock valued at $593,054. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B&G Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in B&G Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of B&G Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of B&G Foods by 36.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 1,556.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of B&G Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.15% of the company’s stock.

B&G Foods Company 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.