B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) Short Interest Down 10.4% in December

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,100,000 shares, a drop of 10.4% from the November 30th total of 10,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BGS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.30.

B&G Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BGS traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,450,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,156,318. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $545.44 million, a P/E ratio of -20.26 and a beta of 0.54. B&G Foods has a 12 month low of $6.12 and a 12 month high of $11.97.

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

B&G Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. B&G Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently -223.53%.

Insider Transactions at B&G Foods

In related news, EVP Eric H. Hart acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.25 per share, with a total value of $31,250.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 88,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $555,618.75. This trade represents a 5.96 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Sherrill bought 70,000 shares of B&G Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.63 per share, with a total value of $464,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 353,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,946.92. This represents a 24.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 90,111 shares of company stock worth $593,054 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BGS. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of B&G Foods by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,640,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,254,000 after purchasing an additional 682,688 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in B&G Foods by 33.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,918,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,501,000 after buying an additional 485,714 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 154.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 626,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,065,000 after buying an additional 380,054 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of B&G Foods by 3,480.9% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 379,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,369,000 after buying an additional 368,799 shares during the period. Finally, Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 37.5% in the 2nd quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 528,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,268,000 after acquiring an additional 144,146 shares during the last quarter. 66.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About B&G Foods

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.