J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

SJM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

SJM stock opened at $113.60 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a PE ratio of -129.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. J. M. Smucker has a 12 month low of $107.33 and a 12 month high of $159.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.72.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 1.24% and a positive return on equity of 14.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that J. M. Smucker will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently -481.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SJM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,702,515,000 after purchasing an additional 518,433 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 9.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,777,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,503,000 after purchasing an additional 151,389 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,688,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,441,000 after purchasing an additional 202,092 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 487.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,459,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,457,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,170,000 after purchasing an additional 29,728 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About J. M. Smucker

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients.