J&J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $137.90, but opened at $145.00. J&J Snack Foods shares last traded at $154.73, with a volume of 18,966 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $359.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $341.08 million. J&J Snack Foods had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS.

J&J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $0.735 per share. This represents a $2.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. J&J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J&J Snack Foods in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Transactions at J&J Snack Foods

In other J&J Snack Foods news, Director Marjorie Shreiber Roshkoff sold 625 shares of J&J Snack Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total value of $92,331.25. Following the sale, the director now owns 69,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,261,178.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 22.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J&J Snack Foods

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J&J Snack Foods in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of J&J Snack Foods during the first quarter worth $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J&J Snack Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J&J Snack Foods in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in J&J Snack Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $69,000. 76.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J&J Snack Foods Stock Up 16.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $140.58 and a 200-day moving average of $153.51.

About J&J Snack Foods

J&J Snack Foods Corp. manufactures, markets, and distributes nutritional snack foods and beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. It offers soft pretzels under the SUPERPRETZEL, SUPERPRETZEL BAVARIAN, NEW YORK PRETZEL, BAVARIAN BAKERY, and BRAUHAUS brands, as well as under the private labels; frozen novelty under the DIPPIN'DOTS, LUIGI'S, WHOLE FRUIT, DOGSTERS, PHILLY SWIRL, ICEE, and MINUTE MAID brands; churros under the HOLA! and CALIFORNIA CHURROS brands; and handheld products under the SUPREME STUFFERS and SWEET STUFFERS brands.