J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Trading 8.1% Higher Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF)’s share price was up 8.1% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $84.82 and last traded at $87.06. Approximately 82,355 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 233,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.50.

The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $343.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.95 million. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share.

J & J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.52%.

J & J Snack Foods announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Key J & J Snack Foods News

Here are the key news stories impacting J & J Snack Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Project Apollo is starting to show results: management reiterated a $20M annualized savings target and said early Apollo actions drove a 200 bps gross-margin improvement and a 7% rise in adjusted EBITDA, supporting operating leverage going forward. Project Apollo article
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a new $50M share-repurchase program and the company completed ~$42M of repurchases in Q1 — a cash-return signal that typically supports the share price. Press release
• Positive Sentiment: Product/portfolio progress: pretzel segment continued share gains and management flagged upcoming retail launches (Dippin’ Dots and better-for-you pretzel/frozen novelty SKUs) that could drive retail momentum into the summer selling season. Press release
• Neutral Sentiment: EPS slightly beat consensus on an adjusted basis: GAAP EPS were weak but adjusted EPS of $0.33 matched last year and edged past Zacks’ $0.32 consensus — a mixed read for investors focused on recurring profitability vs. one-time items. Zacks earnings note
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/technical backdrop: Zacks notes the stock has been pulled into oversold territory and says analysts are revising estimates higher — a potential contrarian setup but not guaranteed to sustain gains. Zacks technical/estimate note
• Negative Sentiment: Sales and GAAP earnings weakness: revenue fell 5.2% y/y to $343.8M (below consensus ~$366M) and GAAP net income plunged ~83% y/y due to lower volume and non‑recurring charges — a clear near-term headwind for investor confidence. Press release
• Negative Sentiment: Bakery weakness and one-time costs: the bakery business declined ~17% and Q1 included ~$6.1M in plant closure costs and other non-recurring charges that depressed operating income — risk that near-term margins remain lumpy while rationalization completes. Press release

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of J & J Snack Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J & J Snack Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kathleen E. Ciaramello acquired 540 shares of J & J Snack Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $90.56 per share, for a total transaction of $48,902.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,013 shares in the company, valued at $91,737.28. The trade was a 114.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J & J Snack Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 962.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 107,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,301,000 after purchasing an additional 97,108 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of J & J Snack Foods in the third quarter worth about $7,045,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 52.4% during the second quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 200,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,743,000 after buying an additional 68,916 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,865,000 after buying an additional 67,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,688,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,143,000 after buying an additional 58,917 shares during the period. 76.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J & J Snack Foods Trading Up 7.3%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $92.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73 and a beta of 0.34.

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.