J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on JJSF. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $130.00.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Up 0.6%

JJSF stock opened at $76.17 on Thursday. J & J Snack Foods has a twelve month low of $73.53 and a twelve month high of $129.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.99.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 3.75% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $344.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that J & J Snack Foods will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J & J Snack Foods declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JJSF. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 485.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 1,133.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 1,450.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 902.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

About J & J Snack Foods

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ: JJSF) is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of branded snack foods and frozen beverages. Headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey, the company develops, produces and markets a broad array of proprietary and licensed products for retail, concession and foodservice customers. Its offerings span soft pretzels, frozen novelties, real Italian ice, churros and packaged beverages under well-known names such as ICEE, SuperPretzel, Luigi’s and ChurroMan.

Founded in 1971 by Gerald B.