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

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $115.21, but opened at $126.73. J & J Snack Foods shares last traded at $119.24, with a volume of 24,520 shares.

The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $454.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.98 million. J & J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 4.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share.

J & J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. J & J Snack Foods’s payout ratio is currently 80.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JJSF. Wall Street Zen lowered J & J Snack Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Benchmark lowered their price target on J & J Snack Foods from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in J & J Snack Foods by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in J & J Snack Foods by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 71,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,103,000 after buying an additional 26,999 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in J & J Snack Foods by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in J & J Snack Foods by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 16,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,629,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in J & J Snack Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 0.45.

J & J Snack Foods Company Profile

J&J Snack Foods Corp. engages in the manufacturing of nutritional snack foods and distribution of frozen beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries. It operates through the following segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. The Food Service segment includes soft pretzels, frozen novelties, churros, handheld products, and baked goods.