StockNews.com Upgrades J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) to “Hold”

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on SJM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of SJM opened at $114.85 on Monday. J. M. Smucker has a 1 year low of $107.33 and a 1 year high of $159.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -130.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $119.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.71.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.21. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J. M. Smucker will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 41.4% during 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 last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in J. M. Smucker by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 109,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,437,000 after acquiring an additional 2,838 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 40,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,039,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Toews Corp ADV acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter worth $774,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the third quarter worth $453,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.