Wall Street Zen Upgrades B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded B&G Foods from “hold” to “buy.” Other analyst views remain mixed, and MarketBeat reports a consensus “sell” rating with a $3.62 price target.
• B&G Foods beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.21 versus $0.15 expected and revenue of $459.78 million versus $435 million expected; revenue rose 4.7% year over year.
• The stock opened at $3.50, with a 52-week range of $1.99 to $6.38. Its debt-to-equity ratio was 5.74.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

BGS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $4.50 to $3.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $4.00 price objective on shares of B&G Foods in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of B&G Foods from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of B&G Foods from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore set a $4.50 target price on shares of B&G Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, B&G Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Sell" and a consensus target price of $3.62.

B&G Foods Stock Performance

NYSE BGS opened at $3.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.58 million, a P/E ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.56. B&G Foods has a 1-year low of $1.99 and a 1-year high of $6.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $2.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.01.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $459.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $435.00 million. B&G Foods had a positive return on equity of 13.02% and a negative net margin of 4.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. Equities analysts predict that B&G Foods will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B&G Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 0.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,787,165 shares of the company's stock worth $7,280,000 after buying an additional 7,421 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in B&G Foods by 58.6% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 629,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 232,351 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in B&G Foods by 35.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 544,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 142,118 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its stake in B&G Foods by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 479,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 109,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in B&G Foods by 395.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 420,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 335,800 shares during the last quarter. 66.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

B&G Foods Company Profile

B&G Foods, Inc. is a packaged-foods company that manufactures, markets and distributes branded shelf-stable and frozen foods. Its products include vegetables, Mexican foods, hot cereals, spices, seasonings, sauces, baking ingredients and other grocery staples. The company's brands include Green Giant shelf-stable vegetables, Ortega, Cream of Wheat, Maple Grove Farms and Mrs. Dash. B&G Foods sells its products primarily in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico through grocery retailers and other channels.

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