The Campbell Soup Company to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.39 (NASDAQ:CPB)

The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.39 per share on Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%.

Campbell Soup has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.5% per year over the last three years. Campbell Soup has a payout ratio of 47.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Campbell Soup to earn $3.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.1%.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

Campbell Soup stock traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.04. 3,523,347 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,907,828. The company has a market capitalization of $11.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.60 and a 200 day moving average of $44.73. Campbell Soup has a 1-year low of $36.92 and a 1-year high of $52.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.02. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at $693,486.90. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CPB shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Campbell Soup from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.17.

About Campbell Soup

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.