Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) Shares Climb 12% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Seneca Foods shares rose 12% after Freedom Broker upgraded the stock from hold to buy and set a $202 price target; analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy.
• Quarterly EPS of $5.07 beat estimates of $3.82, while revenue of $492.59 million came in below the $506 million forecast.
• The company announced a 5-for-1 stock split, with shares scheduled to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis November 17.

Seneca Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:SENEA - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 12% during mid-day trading on Monday after Freedom Broker upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Freedom Broker now has a $202.00 price target on the stock. Seneca Foods traded as high as $169.80 and last traded at $169.18. 20,588 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 103,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.04.

SENEA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Seneca Foods from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Seneca Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Seneca Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Seneca Foods

In other news, VP Dean Erstad sold 1,587 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $327,175.92. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 609 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $125,551.44. The trade was a 72.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Seneca Foods

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Seneca Foods by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 8,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Seneca Foods by 9.0% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,601 shares of the company's stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Seneca Foods by 3.8% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 22,594 shares of the company's stock worth $4,022,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Seneca Foods by 28.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 48,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,632,000 after buying an additional 10,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Seneca Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $554,000. Institutional investors own 42.51% of the company's stock.

Seneca Foods Trading Up 12.0%

The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80 and a beta of -0.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $176.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.82.

Seneca Foods's stock is going to split before the market opens on Tuesday, November 17th. The 5-1 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, November 16th.

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $5.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.82 by $1.25. The company had revenue of $492.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $506.00 million. Seneca Foods had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 15.73%.

Seneca Foods Company Profile

Seneca Foods Corporation is a U.S.-based food processor and producer of packaged fruits and vegetables. The company supplies retail, food service, industrial and government customers with canned, frozen and prepared foods, including vegetables, fruits, applesauce, snack products and ingredients.

Seneca markets products under brands including Seneca, Libby's, Green Giant, Aunt Nellie's, READ and CherryMan, while also producing private-label goods for retailers and other food companies. Its product portfolio includes canned and frozen vegetables, fruit products, shelf-stable meals and ingredients used by commercial food manufacturers.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Marion, New York, Seneca operates processing and distribution facilities primarily in the United States and sources agricultural products from North American growing regions.

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