Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB – Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CPB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada cut Campbell Soup from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Monday, March 28th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, March 30th. They set a sell rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Campbell Soup from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $44.30.

Campbell Soup stock opened at $47.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Campbell Soup has a one year low of $39.76 and a one year high of $50.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.64 and its 200 day moving average is $43.34.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 9th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 25.72% and a net margin of 11.09%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Campbell Soup’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 2.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 6th. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.85%.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 54.5% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 1,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optimal Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Optimal Asset Management Inc. now owns 80,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. 52.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Campbell Soup Company Profile (Get Rating)

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.

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