Invesco Ltd. Grows Stake in J & J Snack Foods Corp. $JJSF

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its ownership in J & J Snack Foods Corp. by 4.6%, holding a total of 78,008 shares valued at approximately $10,275,000.
• J & J Snack Foods recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, up from the previous $0.78, reflecting a positive change in their annualized dividend yield of 2.8%.
• The company is projected to post an EPS of 4.75 for the current year, with its stock currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $142.50.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,008 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,442 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.40% of J & J Snack Foods worth $10,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JJSF. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in J & J Snack Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 301.3% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 634 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in J & J Snack Foods in the 1st quarter worth about $275,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 1,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,807 shares of the company's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 76.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Performance

JJSF traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $111.57. 91,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,881. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.78. J & J Snack Foods Corp. has a 12 month low of $106.40 and a 12 month high of $180.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01 and a beta of 0.45.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.26. J & J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 5.24%.The business had revenue of $454.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.98 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. J & J Snack Foods's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

J & J Snack Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This is a positive change from J & J Snack Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. J & J Snack Foods's dividend payout ratio is 72.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on JJSF shares. Benchmark reduced their price objective on J & J Snack Foods from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded J & J Snack Foods from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.50.

J & J Snack Foods Profile

J&J Snack Foods Corp. engages in the manufacturing of nutritional snack foods and distribution of frozen beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries. It operates through the following segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. The Food Service segment includes soft pretzels, frozen novelties, churros, handheld products, and baked goods.