Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.38.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Campbell Soup in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “sell” rating and a $41.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of Campbell Soup from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Campbell Soup

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPB. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Campbell Soup by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 6,692 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Campbell Soup by 60.0% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 7,819 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 31.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 11,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 54,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,144 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 319,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,235,000 after acquiring an additional 20,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Trading Down 2.1 %

Campbell Soup stock opened at $42.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.24. Campbell Soup has a fifty-two week low of $37.94 and a fifty-two week high of $55.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 23.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Campbell Soup will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.81%.

Campbell Soup Company Profile

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.