The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $127.33.

SJM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen downgraded J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

SJM opened at $105.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.28. J. M. Smucker has a 1 year low of $104.27 and a 1 year high of $134.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $113.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.77.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently 87.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,361,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,082,000 after purchasing an additional 192,748 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,169,000 after buying an additional 958,142 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter worth $3,266,000. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the second quarter worth $1,565,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.