Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 18,424 Shares of J & J Snack Foods Corp. $JJSF

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) by 24.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,424 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.49% of J & J Snack Foods worth $7,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 485.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 1,133.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 1,450.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 902.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

J & J Snack Foods Price Performance

Shares of J & J Snack Foods stock opened at $77.71 on Tuesday. J & J Snack Foods Corp. has a 1 year low of $68.87 and a 1 year high of $129.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.18.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $344.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.67 million. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 3.75% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J & J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. J & J Snack Foods’s payout ratio is presently 107.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JJSF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of J & J Snack Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of J & J Snack Foods from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $120.00.

J & J Snack Foods 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.