The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) Receives $206.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $199.00.

MZTI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Benchmark raised their price target on Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on Marzetti from $193.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday.

Marzetti Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of MZTI opened at $156.97 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $173.83 and a 200 day moving average of $173.33. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86 and a beta of 0.43. Marzetti has a 52-week low of $156.14 and a 52-week high of $202.63.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. Marzetti had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 18.87%. The business had revenue of $475.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marzetti will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marzetti

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MZTI. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Marzetti in the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Marzetti by 1,350.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Marzetti by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marzetti Company Profile

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.