Renaissance Technologies LLC Reduces Position in J & J Snack Foods Corp. $JJSF

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) by 48.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,656 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in J & J Snack Foods were worth $686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in J & J Snack Foods in the 4th quarter worth $29,596,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 295.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 171,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,518,000 after purchasing an additional 128,301 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in J & J Snack Foods by 962.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 107,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,301,000 after buying an additional 97,108 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in J & J Snack Foods by 3,379.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 87,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,864,000 after buying an additional 84,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 14.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 624,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,468,000 after buying an additional 79,093 shares during the period. 76.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J & J Snack Foods Price Performance

NASDAQ JJSF opened at $89.47 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.49 and its 200 day moving average is $80.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. J & J Snack Foods Corp. has a 12 month low of $68.87 and a 12 month high of $116.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41 and a beta of 0.38.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.26. J & J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 3.23%.The business had revenue of $425.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $427.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J & J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 123.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JJSF. Jefferies Financial Group raised J & J Snack Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of J & J Snack Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of J & J Snack Foods from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.50.

J & J Snack Foods Company Profile

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.