StockNews.com Downgrades J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) to Sell

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen downgraded J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.00.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $109.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,185,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,121,844. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $106.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.50. The company has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. J. M. Smucker has a twelve month low of $98.77 and a twelve month high of $127.15.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Analysts anticipate that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,344,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,469,544,000 after purchasing an additional 130,533 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 12.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,111,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,145,000 after acquiring an additional 762,746 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,222,000 after buying an additional 380,309 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,609,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,664,000 after purchasing an additional 58,231 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,942,000 after acquiring an additional 418,878 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.