J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Shares Up 8.1% After Strong Earnings

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF)’s share price was up 8.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $84.82 and last traded at $87.06. Approximately 82,355 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 233,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.50.

The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $343.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.95 million. J & J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 3.92%.J & J Snack Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS.

J & J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 95.52%.

J & J Snack Foods announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on JJSF shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered J & J Snack Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.50.

Insider Transactions at J & J Snack Foods

In related news, Director Kathleen E. Ciaramello acquired 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $90.56 per share, for a total transaction of $48,902.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,737.28. This trade represents a 114.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in J & J Snack Foods in the first quarter worth about $228,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 122.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 72,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,566,000 after purchasing an additional 39,933 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 49.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 465.8% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,391,000 after purchasing an additional 21,196 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Up 0.4%

The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.82.

About J & J Snack Foods

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ: JJSF) is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of branded snack foods and frozen beverages. Headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey, the company develops, produces and markets a broad array of proprietary and licensed products for retail, concession and foodservice customers. Its offerings span soft pretzels, frozen novelties, real Italian ice, churros and packaged beverages under well-known names such as ICEE, SuperPretzel, Luigi’s and ChurroMan.

Founded in 1971 by Gerald B.