SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 43,283 Shares of J & J Snack Foods Corp. $JJSF

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 776.8% in Q4, buying 43,283 shares to hold 48,855 shares (about 0.26% of the company) valued at roughly $4.42 million.
• J & J Snack Foods announced a $0.80 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.20) implying a 4.1% yield with a payout ratio of 101.91%, and authorized a $50 million share buyback program (≈2.8% of shares outstanding).
• The company reported EPS $0.33 for the quarter (beat by $0.01) while revenue fell 5.2% year-over-year and missed estimates; analysts' consensus rating is "Hold" with a $130 price target and the stock trades with a market cap near $1.5 billion.

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF - Free Report) by 776.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,855 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 43,283 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.26% of J & J Snack Foods worth $4,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in J & J Snack Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 897.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 439 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. RK Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. RK Asset Management LLC now owns 32,400 shares of the company's stock worth $2,928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,452 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 227.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 53,325 shares of the company's stock worth $5,124,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares during the period. 76.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on JJSF shares. Zacks Research cut shares of J & J Snack Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $130.00.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:JJSF opened at $78.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $84.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.55. J & J Snack Foods Corp. has a twelve month low of $73.75 and a twelve month high of $142.69.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $343.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.95 million. J & J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 3.92%.J & J Snack Foods's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J & J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. J & J Snack Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.91%.

J & J Snack Foods declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

J & J Snack Foods Company Profile

J & J Snack Foods NASDAQ: JJSF is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of branded snack foods and frozen beverages. Headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey, the company develops, produces and markets a broad array of proprietary and licensed products for retail, concession and foodservice customers. Its offerings span soft pretzels, frozen novelties, real Italian ice, churros and packaged beverages under well-known names such as ICEE, SuperPretzel, Luigi's and ChurroMan.

Founded in 1971 by Gerald B.

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