J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) Short Interest Update

J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 893,200 shares, an increase of 18.6% from the January 15th total of 753,400 shares. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 112,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.9 days.

J&J Snack Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JJSF opened at $124.85 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.77 and a beta of 0.64. J&J Snack Foods has a 52-week low of $116.60 and a 52-week high of $180.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $146.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.01.

J&J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.29). J&J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 9.84% and a net margin of 5.31%. Analysts forecast that J&J Snack Foods will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

J&J Snack Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. J&J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of J&J Snack Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of J&J Snack Foods by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of J&J Snack Foods by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its position in shares of J&J Snack Foods by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 14,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,428,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of J&J Snack Foods by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of J&J Snack Foods by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

J&J Snack Foods Company Profile

J&J Snack Foods Corp. engages in the manufacturing of nutritional snack foods and distribution of frozen beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries. It operates through the following segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. The Food Service segment includes soft pretzels, frozen novelties, churros, handheld products, and baked goods.