Benchmark Has Lowered Expectations for J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Stock Price

Key Points

• Benchmark cut its price target on J & J Snack Foods from $130 to $120, while keeping a buy rating. The new target still implies about 68.85% upside from the prior close.
• The stock was trading sharply lower at $71.07, near its 52-week low of $70.76 and well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Analyst sentiment remains weak overall, with an average rating of Reduce.
• J & J Snack Foods recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.40, slightly beating estimates, but revenue missed expectations and fell 3.2% year over year. The company also has a $50 million share buyback authorization in place.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at Benchmark from $130.00 to $120.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Benchmark's target price would suggest a potential upside of 68.85% from the company's previous close.

JJSF has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of J & J Snack Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $120.00.

J & J Snack Foods Price Performance

Shares of JJSF traded down $5.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $71.07. The stock had a trading volume of 150,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 268,165. The company's fifty day moving average is $81.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.99. J & J Snack Foods has a 52 week low of $70.76 and a 52 week high of $129.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87 and a beta of 0.43.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 3.75% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $344.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that J & J Snack Foods will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J & J Snack Foods declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,000,911 shares of the company's stock worth $180,822,000 after buying an additional 31,612 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,739,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,451,000 after purchasing an additional 26,975 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 624,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,468,000 after purchasing an additional 79,093 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,865,000 after purchasing an additional 67,028 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 382,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.04% of the company's stock.

About J & J Snack Foods

J & J Snack Foods NASDAQ: JJSF is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of branded snack foods and frozen beverages. Headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey, the company develops, produces and markets a broad array of proprietary and licensed products for retail, concession and foodservice customers. Its offerings span soft pretzels, frozen novelties, real Italian ice, churros and packaged beverages under well-known names such as ICEE, SuperPretzel, Luigi's and ChurroMan.

Founded in 1971 by Gerald B.

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