J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

JJSF has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $130.00.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Up 0.6%

JJSF stock opened at $76.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.99. J & J Snack Foods has a 12-month low of $73.53 and a 12-month high of $129.24.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 3.75% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $344.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. J & J Snack Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that J & J Snack Foods will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

J & J Snack Foods declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

J & J Snack Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,000,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,822,000 after buying an additional 31,612 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,739,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,451,000 after acquiring an additional 26,975 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in J & J Snack Foods by 14.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 624,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,468,000 after purchasing an additional 79,093 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in J & J Snack Foods by 19.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,865,000 after purchasing an additional 67,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in J & J Snack Foods by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,909 shares in the last quarter. 76.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About J & J Snack Foods

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ: JJSF) is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of branded snack foods and frozen beverages. Headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey, the company develops, produces and markets a broad array of proprietary and licensed products for retail, concession and foodservice customers. Its offerings span soft pretzels, frozen novelties, real Italian ice, churros and packaged beverages under well-known names such as ICEE, SuperPretzel, Luigi’s and ChurroMan.

Founded in 1971 by Gerald B.