Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Stock Price Down 5.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) slid about 5.5% intraday to $117.49 on Monday (trading as low as $114.79) with roughly 59,021 shares changing hands, about 77% below its average daily volume.
• Wall Street sentiment has cooled: the consensus rating is a Hold (one Buy, three Holds) with an average target of $176 after firms like Stephens and DA Davidson cut price targets to the $160–$168 range.
• In the latest quarter Marzetti posted an EPS miss ($2.15 vs. $2.23 expected) on $509.8M revenue (+1.7% YoY), and it pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (3.6% yield; ~61% payout ratio).

Shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report) were down 5.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $114.79 and last traded at $117.4880. Approximately 59,021 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 255,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MZTI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Marzetti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Friday, January 9th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Marzetti from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $176.00.

Marzetti Trading Down 10.4%

The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $145.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.76.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $509.77 million during the quarter. Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 9.25%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Marzetti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MZTI. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Marzetti by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company's stock.

About Marzetti

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.