Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

CPB has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Campbell Soup from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and upped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $46.56.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

NYSE:CPB opened at $49.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.34. Campbell Soup has a 12 month low of $37.94 and a 12 month high of $49.19. The firm has a market cap of $14.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.05. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.26% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Campbell Soup

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $627,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 661,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,592,000 after acquiring an additional 40,504 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter worth $1,211,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter worth $1,045,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the 1st quarter valued at about $672,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Company Profile

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.