Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New Investment in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has acquired a new stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI), purchasing 1,879 shares valued at approximately $329,000.
• Marzetti has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, set to be paid on September 30th, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%.
• For the most recent quarter, Marzetti reported earnings per share of $1.33, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 5.0% year over year.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MZTI. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Marzetti by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Marzetti by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Marzetti by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 290,133 shares of the company's stock worth $50,234,000 after acquiring an additional 28,965 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Marzetti by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,560 shares of the company's stock worth $18,277,000 after purchasing an additional 49,734 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth about $790,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marzetti Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MZTI opened at $182.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 0.43. The Marzetti Company has a twelve month low of $156.14 and a twelve month high of $202.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $175.75 and a 200 day moving average of $176.50.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Marzetti had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 18.87%. The firm had revenue of $475.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Marzetti's payout ratio is 62.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Marzetti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Marzetti in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marzetti presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.00.

Marzetti Company Profile

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.

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