Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday after DA Davidson lowered their price target on the stock from $184.00 to $168.00. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marzetti traded as low as $146.22 and last traded at $146.41, with a volume of 382822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.45.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth about $5,423,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,839,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,088,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Stock Down 3.3%

The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.57.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $509.77 million during the quarter. Marzetti had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Marzetti’s payout ratio is 61.26%.

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.