J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) Short Interest Down 18.9% in December

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 719,265 shares, a decline of 18.9% from the December 15th total of 886,411 shares. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 200,229 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 200,229 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at J & J Snack Foods

In other news, Director Kathleen E. Ciaramello purchased 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $90.56 per share, for a total transaction of $48,902.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,737.28. This trade represents a 114.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 962.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 107,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,301,000 after buying an additional 97,108 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $7,045,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 200,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,743,000 after acquiring an additional 68,916 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 19.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,865,000 after purchasing an additional 67,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 3.6% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,688,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,143,000 after purchasing an additional 58,917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on JJSF shares. Zacks Research upgraded J & J Snack Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.50.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Performance

JJSF stock traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.44. The company had a trading volume of 200,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,701. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39 and a beta of 0.34. J & J Snack Foods has a fifty-two week low of $80.67 and a fifty-two week high of $146.04.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 17th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.34. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $410.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that J & J Snack Foods will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

J & J Snack Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.52%.

J & J Snack Foods Company Profile

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.