Zacks Research Downgrades John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded John B. Sanfilippo & Son to “Strong Sell” from “Hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $100.
• JBSS shares opened at $68.52, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and have traded between $59.07 and $92.08 over the past year.
• The company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.71 missed the $1.17 consensus estimate by $0.46, despite revenue of $280.43 million exceeding expectations.

John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on JBSS. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son in a research report on Wednesday. Freedom Broker raised shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, John B. Sanfilippo & Son presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

John B. Sanfilippo & Son Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBSS opened at $68.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.42 and a 200 day moving average of $78.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $801.00 million, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.32. John B. Sanfilippo & Son has a 12 month low of $59.07 and a 12 month high of $92.08.

John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $280.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $274.87 million. John B. Sanfilippo & Son had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 5.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that John B. Sanfilippo & Son will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John B. Sanfilippo & Son

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of JBSS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in John B. Sanfilippo & Son by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 312,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,815,000 after acquiring an additional 12,056 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,083,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son by 161.6% in the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 77,474 shares of the company's stock worth $5,470,000 after acquiring an additional 47,864 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 70,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,553,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dean Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 54,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566 shares in the last quarter. 70.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About John B. Sanfilippo & Son

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc is a food company that processes, packages, markets and distributes tree nuts, peanuts and related snack products. Its offerings include roasted and salted nuts, trail mixes, nut-based snacks, baking ingredients and other packaged foods sold through retail, food-service and industrial channels.

The company markets products under brands including Fisher, Orchard Valley Harvest, Sunshine Country and Squirrel Brand, while also producing private-label products for retailers and food manufacturers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.