Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Marzetti from $179.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.33.

Marzetti Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MZTI opened at $171.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.64 and a 200 day moving average of $171.28. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85 and a beta of 0.40. Marzetti has a 12-month low of $152.95 and a 12-month high of $198.39.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $482.78 million for the quarter. Marzetti had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 18.86%. Marzetti’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Marzetti will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Marzetti

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,342,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth $2,084,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at $3,889,000. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at $5,524,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at $645,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

About Marzetti

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.