B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) Short Interest Up 30.3% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 30.3% in March to 13,895,543 shares, equal to 17.9% of the shares short and a days-to-cover ratio of 6.7.
• Insiders sold stock (Director David L. Wenner sold 19,500 shares and EVP Andrew D. Vogel sold 20,000 on March 13), with 50,821 shares sold by insiders in the last quarter; insiders own 3.2% of the company.
• Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 (annualized $0.76) implying a 13.7% yield, though the payout ratio is negative at -140.74%, raising sustainability concerns.

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,895,543 shares, an increase of 30.3% from the March 15th total of 10,664,836 shares. Currently, 17.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,077,348 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other B&G Foods news, Director David L. Wenner sold 19,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.19, for a total transaction of $101,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 787,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,087,467.54. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew D. Vogel sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.19, for a total transaction of $103,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 50,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $263,024.01. The trade was a 28.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,821 shares of company stock worth $266,138. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of B&G Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of B&G Foods by 502.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,443 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 6,207 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of B&G Foods during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of B&G Foods by 49.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,891 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of B&G Foods during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of B&G Foods during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 66.15% of the company's stock.

B&G Foods Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of BGS stock opened at $5.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $445.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.25 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.30. B&G Foods has a fifty-two week low of $3.67 and a fifty-two week high of $7.24. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $5.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.69.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28. The firm had revenue of $539.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $537.50 million. B&G Foods had a negative net margin of 2.37% and a positive return on equity of 8.43%. B&G Foods's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that B&G Foods will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

B&G Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. B&G Foods's payout ratio is -140.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of B&G Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of B&G Foods from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore set a $5.00 target price on shares of B&G Foods in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "sell" rating on shares of B&G Foods in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $4.90.

B&G Foods Company Profile

B&G Foods, Inc is a packaged foods holding company that develops, markets and distributes a diversified portfolio of branded shelf-stable and frozen food products. Headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, the company serves retail and foodservice customers across the United States and Canada. Through its network of manufacturing facilities, third-party co-packers and distribution partners, B&G Foods supplies grocery chains, mass merchandisers, club stores and e-commerce platforms.

The company's product portfolio spans multiple categories, including vegetables, beans, soups, sauces and condiments, snacks, cereals and refrigerated or frozen offerings.

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