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

Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $126.78.

Several research analysts have weighed in on SJM shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on 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 decreased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of SJM opened at $112.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58. J. M. Smucker has a one year low of $98.77 and a one year high of $127.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.29. The company has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.27.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the business’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 transaction of $112,322.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,942. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Romano Brothers AND Company boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.5% in the third quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 17,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.