Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $136.33 and last traded at $136.70, with a volume of 370380 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $142.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reduced their target price on Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Friday, January 9th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.67.

Marzetti Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.88.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.08). Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 9.25%.The company had revenue of $509.77 million for the quarter. Marzetti’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marzetti

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MZTI. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth about $1,118,569,000. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $367,969,000. State Street Corp bought a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $160,722,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,778,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,681,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.