Marzetti's (MZTI) "Equal Weight" Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens has reiterated its "equal weight" rating on Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) with a price target of $190.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.20% from the current price.
• Benchmark increased its target price for Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00, while the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $206.00.
• Marzetti reported earnings of $1.33 per share, surpassing expectations and showing a 5.0% year-over-year revenue growth, reaching $475.43 million for the quarter.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating restated by equities research analysts at Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $190.00 target price on the stock. Stephens' target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.36% from the company's current price.

Separately, Benchmark raised their target price on Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.00.

Marzetti Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Marzetti stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $182.06. The stock had a trading volume of 40,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 159,878. The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.99 and a beta of 0.43. Marzetti has a 12 month low of $156.14 and a 12 month high of $202.63. The business's 50-day moving average is $177.90 and its 200 day moving average is $175.87.

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

Institutional Trading of Marzetti

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Marzetti by 0.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 212,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,707 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its position in Marzetti by 50.4% during the second quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 42,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,371,000 after acquiring an additional 14,290 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Marzetti by 0.4% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 23,587 shares of the company's stock worth $4,075,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Marzetti by 3.0% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,526 shares of the company's stock worth $5,101,000 after buying an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Marzetti by 11.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,468 shares of the company's stock worth $28,242,000 after buying an additional 17,187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.