Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) Rating Increased to Outperform at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $58.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $55.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on CPB. TD Cowen increased their target price on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Campbell Soup from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a hold rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Argus upgraded Campbell Soup from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $59.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Campbell Soup currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $50.77.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

CPB opened at $47.84 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.59. Campbell Soup has a 12-month low of $37.94 and a 12-month high of $52.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.18.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 24.08% and a net margin of 5.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. Campbell Soup’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Campbell Soup during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Campbell Soup in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 3,760.9% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Campbell Soup in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Campbell Soup in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

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.