Ranger Investment Management L.P. Acquires 68,916 Shares of J & J Snack Foods Corp. $JJSF

Ranger Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) by 52.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,540 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,916 shares during the quarter. J & J Snack Foods accounts for approximately 1.6% of Ranger Investment Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Ranger Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in J & J Snack Foods were worth $22,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 29.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 210,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,921,000 after purchasing an additional 48,466 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 877.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 42,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,597,000 after purchasing an additional 38,137 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $764,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 4.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 78,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,275,000 after buying an additional 3,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 6.4% during the second quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 553,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,786,000 after buying an additional 33,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at J & J Snack Foods

In other J & J Snack Foods news, Director Kathleen E. Ciaramello purchased 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $90.56 per share, for a total transaction of $48,902.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 1,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,737.28. The trade was a 114.16% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 21.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on JJSF shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Benchmark reduced their price target on J & J Snack Foods from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised J & J Snack Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, J & J Snack Foods currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.50.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Down 0.2%

J & J Snack Foods stock opened at $93.76 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.92. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.99 and a beta of 0.35. J & J Snack Foods Corp. has a twelve month low of $80.67 and a twelve month high of $169.41.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 17th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $410.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.08 million. J & J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 4.14%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J & J Snack Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. J & J Snack Foods’s payout ratio is presently 95.52%.

About J & J Snack Foods

J&J Snack Foods Corp. engages in the manufacturing of nutritional snack foods and distribution of frozen beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries. It operates through the following segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. The Food Service segment includes soft pretzels, frozen novelties, churros, handheld products, and baked goods.