The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat 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 price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $137.47.

Several brokerages recently commented on SJM. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $113.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.09, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.62. J. M. Smucker has a 52 week low of $107.33 and a 52 week high of $159.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -481.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 is available at this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 41.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,194,000 after buying an additional 5,224 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 2.7% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 109,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,437,000 after buying an additional 2,838 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 40.2% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 105,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,014,000 after buying an additional 30,344 shares during the period. Cavalier Investments LLC raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.6% during the third quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 13,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 9.0% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 40,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

About J. M. Smucker

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.