J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

SJM stock opened at $114.65 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $119.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.78. J. M. Smucker has a 52 week low of $107.33 and a 52 week high of $159.92.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 1.24% and a positive return on equity of 14.29%. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently -481.81%.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 41.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,194,000 after acquiring an additional 5,224 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.7% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 109,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,437,000 after buying an additional 2,838 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 9.0% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 40,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,039,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Toews Corp ADV acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the third quarter worth $774,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the third quarter worth $453,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About J. M. Smucker

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients.