The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $137.47.

SJM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of SJM opened at $113.11 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $119.21 and its 200 day moving average is $120.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. J. M. Smucker has a 12-month low of $107.33 and a 12-month high of $159.45. The company has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of -128.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.23.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -481.81%.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction of $399,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth $157,077,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 487.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,459,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,961,000 after buying an additional 1,210,837 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 363.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 21,858.1% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,702,515,000 after acquiring an additional 518,433 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.