Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Freedom Broker

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) was upgraded by Freedom Broker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday, FinViz reports. The firm presently has a $202.00 price objective on the stock. Freedom Broker‘s target price points to a potential upside of 22.08% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Seneca Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Freedom Capital cut shares of Seneca Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Seneca Foods from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Seneca Foods has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Seneca Foods Trading Up 9.6%

Shares of Seneca Foods stock traded up $14.43 on Monday, reaching $165.47. 8,321 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 103,306. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $176.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61 and a beta of -0.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Seneca Foods has a fifty-two week low of $105.05 and a fifty-two week high of $210.00.

Seneca Foods shares are set to split on Tuesday, November 17th. The 5-1 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, November 16th.

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $5.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.82 by $1.25. The business had revenue of $492.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $506.00 million. Seneca Foods had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 6.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Seneca Foods

In related news, VP Dean Erstad sold 1,587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $327,175.92. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,551.44. The trade was a 72.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seneca Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Seneca Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Seneca Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Seneca Foods by 88.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Seneca Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Seneca Foods by 22.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 429 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 42.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Seneca Foods

Seneca Foods Corporation is a U.S.-based food processor and producer of packaged fruits and vegetables. The company supplies retail, food service, industrial and government customers with canned, frozen and prepared foods, including vegetables, fruits, applesauce, snack products and ingredients.

Seneca markets products under brands including Seneca, Libby’s, Green Giant, Aunt Nellie’s, READ and CherryMan, while also producing private-label goods for retailers and other food companies. Its product portfolio includes canned and frozen vegetables, fruit products, shelf-stable meals and ingredients used by commercial food manufacturers.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Marion, New York, Seneca operates processing and distribution facilities primarily in the United States and sources agricultural products from North American growing regions.