Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.83.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CPB shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Campbell Soup from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Argus raised shares of Campbell Soup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Campbell Soup from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Campbell Soup

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CPB. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Campbell Soup in the second quarter valued at $469,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the 1st quarter valued at about $672,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Campbell Soup in the 1st quarter worth about $11,405,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Campbell Soup by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,876,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,971,000 after purchasing an additional 363,736 shares during the period. Finally, MN Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Campbell Soup during the third quarter worth approximately $940,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

CPB opened at $46.65 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.18. Campbell Soup has a 52-week low of $39.65 and a 52-week high of $52.81.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 24.08% and a net margin of 5.88%. Campbell Soup’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Campbell Soup will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Campbell Soup’s payout ratio is currently 59.92%.

About Campbell Soup

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in 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.