The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $125.70.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SJM. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their target price on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 0.2%

SJM traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $112.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,464,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,153,197. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $114.40 and its 200-day moving average is $111.20. J. M. Smucker has a 1 year low of $98.77 and a 1 year high of $125.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -179.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. The trade was a 36.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 87.0% in the 1st quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

About J. M. Smucker

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.