The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $137.47.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SJM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup cut their target price on J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised J. M. Smucker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth about $157,077,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 487.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,459,200 shares of the company's stock worth $178,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210,837 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 363.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,274,015 shares of the company's stock worth $160,258,000 after acquiring an additional 999,315 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21,858.1% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 680,700 shares of the company's stock worth $86,027,000 after acquiring an additional 677,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company's stock worth $1,702,515,000 after purchasing an additional 518,433 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.2 %

J. M. Smucker stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.82. 1,432,039 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,250,079. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $117.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. J. M. Smucker has a one year low of $107.33 and a one year high of $156.03.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.21. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that J. M. Smucker will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -481.81%.

J. M. Smucker Company Profile

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients.