B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) was down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $6.12 and last traded at $6.20. Approximately 305,335 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 1,090,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BGS shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of B&G Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, B&G Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.30.

B&G Foods Stock Up 2.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $517.31 million, a PE ratio of -19.22 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $8.12 and its 200-day moving average is $8.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $461.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $473.82 million. B&G Foods had a positive return on equity of 6.97% and a negative net margin of 1.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that B&G Foods, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

B&G Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.63%. B&G Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently -223.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other B&G Foods news, EVP Jordan E. Greenberg sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.33, for a total value of $66,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $550,571.35. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric H. Hart purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $555,618.75. The trade was a 5.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 90,111 shares of company stock valued at $593,054 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of B&G Foods

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BGS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of B&G Foods by 1,556.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in B&G Foods by 16.1% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in B&G Foods by 22.1% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 24,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 4,490 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. boosted its position in B&G Foods by 7.5% during the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 41,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in B&G Foods by 324.8% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 52,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 39,914 shares during the last quarter. 66.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

B&G Foods Company Profile

B&G Foods, Inc manufactures, sells, and distributes a portfolio of shelf-stable and frozen foods, and household products in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company's products include frozen and canned vegetables, vegetables, canola and other cooking oils, vegetable shortening, cooking sprays, oatmeal and other hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, wine vinegar, maple syrups, molasses, salad dressings, pizza crusts, Mexican-style sauces, dry soups, taco shells and kits, salsas, pickles, peppers, tomato-based products, crackers, baking powder and soda, corn starch, nut clusters, and other specialty products.