J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen lowered J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 2.1 %

J. M. Smucker stock opened at $116.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $107.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. J. M. Smucker has a 52 week low of $98.77 and a 52 week high of $127.15.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 324,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,721,000 after purchasing an additional 11,339 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,361,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,082,000 after purchasing an additional 192,748 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth $1,273,000. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 336.3% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 12,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 9,982 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,169,000 after purchasing an additional 958,142 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Company Profile

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.