J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

JJSF has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research note on Monday. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of J & J Snack Foods from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.50.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Performance

Shares of JJSF stock opened at $92.79 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70 and a beta of 0.35. J & J Snack Foods has a 52-week low of $80.67 and a 52-week high of $172.33.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 17th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.34. J & J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 4.14%.The business had revenue of $410.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that J & J Snack Foods will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J & J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J & J Snack Foods

In other J & J Snack Foods news, Director Kathleen E. Ciaramello purchased 540 shares of J & J Snack Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $90.56 per share, for a total transaction of $48,902.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,737.28. This trade represents a 114.16% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 21.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,673,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,496,000 after purchasing an additional 20,803 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 1.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 188,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,806,000 after buying an additional 2,658 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 4.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 78,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,275,000 after buying an additional 3,442 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 170.3% during the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 2,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in J & J Snack Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $232,000. Institutional investors own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

About J & J Snack Foods

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.