J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Raised to Hold 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 Saturday.

SJM has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. They set an overweight rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised J. M. Smucker from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $137.20.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

NYSE:SJM opened at $123.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.96. J. M. Smucker has a fifty-two week low of $107.33 and a fifty-two week high of $159.92. The company has a market capitalization of $13.13 billion, a PE ratio of -140.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.78.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 1.24% and a positive return on equity of 14.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that J. M. Smucker will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is currently -481.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in J. M. Smucker by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,515,000 after acquiring an additional 518,433 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth about $279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Company Profile

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.