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

Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $137.47.

Several research firms recently weighed in on SJM. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded 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. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 18,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.4% in the third quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 2,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 0.7% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:SJM opened at $113.11 on Friday. J. M. Smucker has a 52 week low of $107.33 and a 52 week high of $159.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $119.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.62. 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 firm has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -128.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.23.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. J. M. Smucker’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -481.81%.

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.