J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The stock had previously closed at $84.59, but opened at $78.35. J & J Snack Foods shares last traded at $78.2350, with a volume of 19,365 shares trading hands.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J & J Snack Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $130.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,739,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,451,000 after buying an additional 26,975 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors raised its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 55.2% during the third quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 102,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,897,000 after buying an additional 36,614 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 1,544.4% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 38,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,742,000 after buying an additional 36,571 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 19.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,865,000 after buying an additional 67,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,647,000. 76.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

J & J Snack Foods Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $81.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.99.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $344.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

J & J Snack Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.38%.

J & J Snack Foods announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.