J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded J & J Snack Foods from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a recent research note, indicating a more favorable outlook for the company's stock.
• Benchmark has revised its price target for J & J Snack Foods from $165.00 to $150.00, while still maintaining a "buy" rating for the company, reflecting confidence in its future performance.
• The company reported earnings of $2.00 per share for its most recent quarter, exceeding expectations, with a net margin of 5.24% and a revenue increase of 3.3% year-over-year.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of J & J Snack Foods from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

J & J Snack Foods Price Performance

Shares of JJSF traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $113.94. 30,144 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,647. J & J Snack Foods has a 52 week low of $106.40 and a 52 week high of $180.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.34. The company has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56 and a beta of 0.45.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.26. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 8.79%. The business had revenue of $454.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $445.98 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that J & J Snack Foods will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JJSF. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,314 shares of the company's stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 71,571 shares of the company's stock worth $11,103,000 after purchasing an additional 26,999 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 16,946 shares of the company's stock worth $2,629,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in J & J Snack Foods during the fourth quarter worth $430,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,497 shares of the company's stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the period. 76.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About J & J Snack Foods

J&J Snack Foods Corp. engages in the manufacturing of nutritional snack foods and distribution of frozen beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries. It operates through the following segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. The Food Service segment includes soft pretzels, frozen novelties, churros, handheld products, and baked goods.