J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

SJM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Argus reduced their target price on J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $121.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised J. M. Smucker to a strong sell rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $127.25.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $120.27 on Friday. J. M. Smucker has a fifty-two week low of $105.69 and a fifty-two week high of $142.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $117.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.24.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that J. M. Smucker will post 9.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a boost from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J. M. Smucker news, CEO Mark T. Smucker sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.16, for a total transaction of $1,101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,675,871.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,002,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,714,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $491,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 212.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Alethea Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $446,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

About J. M. Smucker

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients.