Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Stephens in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.86% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Monday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marzetti has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $132.50.

Marzetti Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ MZTI opened at $109.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.60. Marzetti has a 1 year low of $97.00 and a 1 year high of $176.26.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $481.52 million during the quarter. Marzetti had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS.

Insider Activity at Marzetti

In other news, CEO Luis Viso sold 997 shares of Marzetti stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.81, for a total value of $100,507.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,548.07. The trade was a 48.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 29.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marzetti

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MZTI. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Marzetti by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 15,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 3,967 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Marzetti by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 3rd quarter valued at about $142,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,864,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 3rd quarter valued at about $945,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

More Marzetti News

Here are the key news stories impacting Marzetti this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Marzetti and Tajín plan to bring Tajín-inspired flavor to shelf-stable dressings, which could broaden the company’s product offering. Article: Marzetti and Tajín announce dressing collaboration
• Negative Sentiment: First-quarter EPS was $1.14, below the $1.37 consensus estimate and down from $1.74 a year earlier. Revenue was $481.52 million, a 2.4% year-over-year decline; coverage attributed pressure on sales and profit in part to the Cyclospora outbreak. The earnings miss and deteriorating year-over-year results are likely weighing on investor sentiment. Article: Why Marzetti’s Q1 profit fell

About Marzetti

T. Marzetti Company is a food manufacturer and marketer based in Columbus, Ohio. The company develops, produces and distributes specialty food products for retail and foodservice customers, with a portfolio focused on dressings, dips, sauces, frozen breads and related prepared foods.

Its brand portfolio includes Marzetti, Simply Dressed, New York Bakery, Sister Schubert’s, Flatout, Cardini’s and Girard’s, among others. These products are sold through grocery retailers and other retail channels, while the company also supplies restaurants, institutional foodservice operators and other commercial customers.

The company traces its roots to 1896, when Teresa Marzetti opened a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.