StockNews.com Downgrades Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) to Sell

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on CPB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Campbell Soup from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on Campbell Soup from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Campbell Soup from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $46.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Friday, June 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Campbell Soup currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.56.

Campbell Soup Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CPB traded down $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $46.27. 2,350,378 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,667,720. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.16. Campbell Soup has a 52-week low of $37.94 and a 52-week high of $48.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.05 and its 200-day moving average is $44.17.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.26% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Campbell Soup will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Campbell Soup

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CPB. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 2.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 22,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $969,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 11,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter valued at $273,000. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 126.2% during the fourth quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 13,795 shares during the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Campbell Soup

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.