StockNews.com Upgrades J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) to Hold

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

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

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE SJM opened at $116.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $108.21 and its 200-day moving average is $112.20. J. M. Smucker has a one year low of $98.77 and a one year high of $125.75. The firm has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at about $112,978,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,169,000 after buying an additional 958,142 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3,599.5% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 929,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,346,000 after buying an additional 904,278 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,111,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $861,145,000 after acquiring an additional 762,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,078,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,808,000 after acquiring an additional 468,200 shares during the period. 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.