DAVENPORT & Co LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in J & J Snack Foods Corp. $JJSF

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lowered its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 233,408 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,836 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in J & J Snack Foods were worth $20,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,712,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,367,000 after buying an additional 24,175 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,865,000 after acquiring an additional 67,028 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in J & J Snack Foods by 1.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 380,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,211,000 after acquiring an additional 6,334 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in J & J Snack Foods by 2.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 354,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,176,000 after acquiring an additional 9,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 1.2% during the second quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 220,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. 76.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J & J Snack Foods Trading Up 1.3%

JJSF stock opened at $77.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72 and a beta of 0.34. J & J Snack Foods Corp. has a 12 month low of $73.75 and a 12 month high of $142.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $86.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.50.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $343.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.95 million. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 3.92% and a return on equity of 8.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

J & J Snack Foods declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

J & J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded J & J Snack Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.00.

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.