The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $127.33.

Several research firms have commented on SJM. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,329.4% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 212.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of SJM stock opened at $105.36 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.77. J. M. Smucker has a 1 year low of $104.27 and a 1 year high of $134.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.28.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The company had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. J. M. Smucker’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that J. M. Smucker will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently 87.45%.

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.