J. M. Smucker Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SJM)

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 4,550 call options on the company. This is an increase of 244% compared to the average volume of 1,324 call options.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock opened at $97.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.88. J. M. Smucker has a 52-week low of $93.93 and a 52-week high of $125.42.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.06. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other news, Director Tarang Amin bought 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $96.09 per share, with a total value of $100,894.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $367,544.25. The trade was a 37.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. This represents a 36.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strs Ohio bought a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,243,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 254,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,133,000 after purchasing an additional 17,539 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 3.7% in the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 17,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,017,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SJM shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $119.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $134.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.55.

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.