J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $80.00 and last traded at $82.9450, with a volume of 136791 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $95.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JJSF has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of J & J Snack Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.50.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.47 and a 200 day moving average of $97.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93 and a beta of 0.34.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. J & J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 3.92%.The company had revenue of $343.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

J & J Snack Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.52%.

J & J Snack Foods announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J & J Snack Foods news, Director Kathleen E. Ciaramello bought 540 shares of J & J Snack Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $90.56 per share, with a total value of $48,902.40. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,737.28. This trade represents a 114.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in J & J Snack Foods by 4.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RK Asset Management LLC increased its position in J & J Snack Foods by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. RK Asset Management LLC now owns 29,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 76.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J & J Snack Foods Company Profile

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ: JJSF) is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of branded snack foods and frozen beverages. Headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey, the company develops, produces and markets a broad array of proprietary and licensed products for retail, concession and foodservice customers. Its offerings span soft pretzels, frozen novelties, real Italian ice, churros and packaged beverages under well-known names such as ICEE, SuperPretzel, Luigi’s and ChurroMan.

Founded in 1971 by Gerald B.