B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) Trading 3.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) shares traded up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $6.73 and last traded at $6.68. 1,209,889 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 1,102,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BGS. Barclays cut their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of B&G Foods in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.30.

B&G Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $528.82 million, a P/E ratio of -19.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.34.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $461.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $473.82 million. B&G Foods had a negative net margin of 1.34% and a positive return on equity of 6.97%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that B&G Foods, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

B&G Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.38%. B&G Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently -223.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at B&G Foods

In other news, EVP Jordan E. Greenberg sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.33, for a total transaction of $66,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $550,571.35. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Sherrill acquired 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.63 per share, with a total value of $464,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 353,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,946.92. This represents a 24.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 90,111 shares of company stock valued at $593,054. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B&G Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BGS. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of B&G Foods during the second quarter worth about $33,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in B&G Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in B&G Foods by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of B&G Foods by 1,556.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of B&G Foods during the first quarter worth $60,000. 66.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

B&G Foods Company Profile

B&G Foods, Inc manufactures, sells, and distributes a portfolio of shelf-stable and frozen foods, and household products in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company's products include frozen and canned vegetables, vegetables, canola and other cooking oils, vegetable shortening, cooking sprays, oatmeal and other hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, wine vinegar, maple syrups, molasses, salad dressings, pizza crusts, Mexican-style sauces, dry soups, taco shells and kits, salsas, pickles, peppers, tomato-based products, crackers, baking powder and soda, corn starch, nut clusters, and other specialty products.