The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $137.47.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction of $399,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SJM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $157,077,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in J. M. Smucker by 487.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,459,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210,837 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 363.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,274,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,258,000 after purchasing an additional 999,315 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21,858.1% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 680,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,027,000 after purchasing an additional 677,600 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,515,000 after purchasing an additional 518,433 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

SJM opened at $113.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.09, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $119.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.72. J. M. Smucker has a twelve month low of $107.33 and a twelve month high of $159.92.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.21. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 1.24% and a positive return on equity of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -481.81%.

J. M. Smucker Company Profile

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients.