The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $125.67.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson cut their price target on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 1.3 %

J. M. Smucker stock opened at $115.91 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $110.69 and its 200 day moving average is $111.92. J. M. Smucker has a one year low of $98.77 and a one year high of $125.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. The trade was a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 17,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.