J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on SJM. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen downgraded J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SJM opened at $116.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. J. M. Smucker has a fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $125.75. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $108.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.17.

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

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -179.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,145,000. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 9,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth about $4,605,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,466,000. Institutional investors 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.