Essex Financial Services Inc. Buys 3,323 Shares of B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS)

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,462 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,323 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in B&G Foods were worth $383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BGS. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of B&G Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $104,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of B&G Foods by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 114,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 4,517 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,161,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,486,000 after acquiring an additional 46,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of B&G Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $490,000. Institutional investors own 66.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

B&G Foods Stock Down 0.1 %

BGS stock opened at $11.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $900.38 million, a P/E ratio of -12.94 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42. B&G Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.20 and a 52 week high of $16.36.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $578.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.65 million. B&G Foods had a negative net margin of 3.21% and a positive return on equity of 8.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that B&G Foods, Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

B&G Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.67%. B&G Foods’s payout ratio is presently -86.36%.

About B&G Foods

B&G Foods, Inc manufactures, sells, and distributes a portfolio of shelf-stable and frozen foods, and household products in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company's products include frozen and canned vegetables, vegetables, canola and other cooking oils, vegetable shortening, cooking sprays, oatmeal and other hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, wine vinegar, maple syrups, molasses, salad dressings, pizza crusts, Mexican-style sauces, dry soups, taco shells and kits, salsas, pickles, peppers, tomato-based products, crackers, baking powder and soda, corn starch, nut clusters, and other specialty products.