J & J Snack Foods Corp. $JJSF Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in J & J Snack Foods Corp. by 1.3%, owning approximately 1.67 million shares valued at $220 million.
• J & J Snack Foods recently reported an EPS of $2.00, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.74, and achieved quarterly revenue of $454.3 million, up 3.3% year-over-year.
• The company has raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 per share, reflecting a 2.8% yield, with the upcoming payment set for October 7th.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,673,976 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,803 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.59% of J & J Snack Foods worth $220,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JJSF. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,596 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 4.8% in the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 3.0% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,835 shares of the company's stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,002 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,682 shares of the company's stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

J & J Snack Foods Price Performance

J & J Snack Foods stock traded up $3.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $115.96. 111,246 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 174,601. J & J Snack Foods Corp. has a 1 year low of $106.40 and a 1 year high of $180.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $114.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.19.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $445.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J & J Snack Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This is an increase from J & J Snack Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. J & J Snack Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.73%.

About J & J Snack Foods

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.