J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Stock Price Up 8.1% on Strong Earnings

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF)’s share price traded up 8.1% on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $84.82 and last traded at $87.06. 82,355 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 233,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.50.

The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $343.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.95 million. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 3.92% and a return on equity of 8.79%. The company’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share.

J & J Snack Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.52%.

J & J Snack Foods declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Trending Headlines about J & J Snack Foods

Here are the key news stories impacting J & J Snack Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a new $50M share repurchase and the company already repurchased ~$42M this quarter, signaling management confidence and supporting shareholder returns. Buyback Authorization
• Positive Sentiment: Project Apollo cost-savings are delivering: management signaled a $20M annual run-rate and early benefits drove a 200 bps gross-margin expansion and +7% adjusted EBITDA — a profitability story investors rewarded. Project Apollo Run-Rate
• Positive Sentiment: Reported adjusted EPS and operating metrics were resilient: adjusted EPS held at $0.33 and adjusted EBITDA rose YoY, while management outlined product launches (Dippin’ Dots, pretzel innovations) that could drive retail momentum. Q1 Results Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted an earnings call and provided detailed commentary/transcript on execution and the Apollo timeline; useful for investors but primarily background detail. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/sector commentary highlights JJSF among resilient food-misc names; one technical piece argues the stock is oversold and poised for a trend reversal, which can attract tactical buyers. Zacks Technical/Analyst Note
• Negative Sentiment: Net sales fell 5.2% YoY to $343.8M (miss vs. consensus), driven mainly by a ~17% decline in the bakery business — a clear near-term revenue headwind. Sales Decline / Q1 Release
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP operating income and net earnings declined sharply (operating income down ~90%, EPS down materially) due to one-time plant-closure and restructuring costs plus product disposal — these items weigh on near-term GAAP profitability. Quiver / Financial Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Several headlines called out the bakery shortfall and revenue miss, which contributed to recent selling pressure; investors will watch whether margin gains and Apollo savings sustainably offset weaker top-line trends. Bakery Disappointment Coverage

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JJSF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of J & J Snack Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was purchased at an average price of $90.56 per share, for a total transaction of $48,902.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,013 shares in the company, valued at $91,737.28. This trade represents a 114.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in J & J Snack Foods by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 210,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,921,000 after purchasing an additional 48,466 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 1.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,712,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,367,000 after buying an additional 24,175 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 6.4% during the second quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 553,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,786,000 after acquiring an additional 33,376 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in J & J Snack Foods by 166.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,948,000 after acquiring an additional 16,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in J & J Snack Foods in the second quarter valued at $329,000. 76.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.91.

About J & J Snack Foods

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ: JJSF) is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of branded snack foods and frozen beverages. Headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey, the company develops, produces and markets a broad array of proprietary and licensed products for retail, concession and foodservice customers. Its offerings span soft pretzels, frozen novelties, real Italian ice, churros and packaged beverages under well-known names such as ICEE, SuperPretzel, Luigi’s and ChurroMan.

Founded in 1971 by Gerald B.