J. M. Smucker Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SJM)

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 4,550 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 244% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,324 call options.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of SJM opened at $95.88 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $112.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.99. J. M. Smucker has a 52 week low of $93.93 and a 52 week high of $125.42. The company has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.06. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently -179.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after acquiring an additional 5,267 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 20,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 324,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,721,000 after acquiring an additional 11,339 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up from $123.00) on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $134.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.55.

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.