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

Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $128.56.

SJM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $109.11 on Thursday. J. M. Smucker has a one year low of $105.69 and a one year high of $134.62. The firm has a market cap of $11.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $113.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that J. M. Smucker will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.45%.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In related 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 transaction of $112,322.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 8,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,065,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 19,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 3.5% during the third quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 3.5% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.