J & J Snack Foods Corp. $JJSF Shares Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. significantly increased its stake in J & J Snack Foods Corp. by 877.3% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 38,137 shares to hold a total of 42,484 shares valued at approximately $5.6 million.
• J & J Snack Foods recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, which will be distributed to shareholders on October 7th, and represents a 2.9% yield with an increase from the previous dividend of $0.78.
• The company reported earnings of $2.00 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $454.3 million, up 3.3% year-over-year.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF - Free Report) by 877.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,484 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,137 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.22% of J & J Snack Foods worth $5,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in J & J Snack Foods by 184.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 6,334 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in J & J Snack Foods by 17.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,181 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in J & J Snack Foods by 27.9% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 49,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,519,000 after acquiring an additional 10,810 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in J & J Snack Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,384,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in J & J Snack Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.04% of the company's stock.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Performance

Shares of JJSF stock traded down $1.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.68. 14,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 153,336. J & J Snack Foods Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $106.40 and a fifty-two week high of $180.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $114.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.05.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.26. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 8.79%. The business had revenue of $454.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. 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. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. J & J Snack Foods's dividend payout ratio is 72.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of J & J Snack Foods from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.50.

J & J Snack Foods Company 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.