J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Upgraded at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $145.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $121.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on J. M. Smucker from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America raised J. M. Smucker from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on J. M. Smucker from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.14.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock opened at $106.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $106.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.01, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. J. M. Smucker has a 52 week low of $93.30 and a 52 week high of $120.76.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 14.07% and a positive return on equity of 15.94%. J. M. Smucker’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -37.32%.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 238.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,924,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,834,000 after buying an additional 2,765,559 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6,854.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,527,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505,991 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 797.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,401,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245,035 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 2nd quarter valued at about $112,829,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 2nd quarter valued at about $109,896,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Company Profile

The J. M. Smucker Company is a diversified food and beverage manufacturer and marketer known for a portfolio of well-established consumer brands. The company’s main business activities include the production and distribution of fruit spreads, peanut butter, coffee and coffee filters, as well as pet food and pet snacks. Smucker’s core product lines serve both retail and foodservice customers through grocery chains, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience outlets and e-commerce channels.

Among its leading brands are Smucker’s® fruit spreads, Jif® peanut butter, Folgers® and Dunkin’® coffees, and Café Bustelo® coffee.