The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Shares of The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.80.

CPB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Campbell's in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Campbell's to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Campbell's from $41.00 to $37.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Campbell's from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Campbell's from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of Campbell's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $99,994.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,504,727.70. The trade was a 6.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 20.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Campbell's

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Campbell's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,588,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Campbell's by 272.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,243,300 shares of the company's stock worth $93,949,000 after acquiring an additional 1,641,400 shares during the period. Man Group plc raised its position in shares of Campbell's by 1,296.1% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,407,161 shares of the company's stock worth $58,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,372 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Campbell's by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,645,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,957 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Campbell's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,908,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company's stock.

Campbell's Trading Down 1.8%

CPB traded down $0.61 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.50. The company had a trading volume of 5,980,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,844,938. The stock has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.14. Campbell's has a 52 week low of $32.95 and a 52 week high of $52.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Campbell's (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell's had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Campbell's will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Campbell's's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.17%.

About Campbell's

The Campbell's Company, formerly known as Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.