Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Stock Price Up 7.2% – Still a Buy?

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI)’s stock price rose 7.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $171.34 and last traded at $169.61. Approximately 40,825 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 154,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MZTI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Marzetti in a report on Thursday, September 11th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $193.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.67.

Marzetti Stock Down 0.9%

The company has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 28.36 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $172.16 and its 200-day moving average is $172.64.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Marzetti had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 18.87%. The company had revenue of $475.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $455.26 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Marzetti’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MZTI. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Marzetti by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,176,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marzetti by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Marzetti by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 146,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,599,000 after purchasing an additional 11,790 shares in the last quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Marzetti during the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Marzetti by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 29,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,092,000 after purchasing an additional 3,912 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Marzetti

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.