J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Now Covered by UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on SJM. Barclays lowered their price target on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen cut J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.50.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SJM opened at $115.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $113.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.80. J. M. Smucker has a fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $125.42.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.