B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $6.49, but opened at $6.99. B&G Foods shares last traded at $6.76, with a volume of 554,340 shares traded.

Specifically, EVP Scott E. Lerner bought 7,611 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.57 per share, with a total value of $50,004.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 196,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,680.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Sherrill bought 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.63 per share, for a total transaction of $464,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 353,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,340,946.92. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BGS. StockNews.com raised B&G Foods from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of B&G Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays cut their price target on B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.30.

B&G Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.71. The stock has a market cap of $533.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.84 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 1.64.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $461.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $473.82 million. B&G Foods had a negative net margin of 1.34% and a positive return on equity of 6.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. Analysts expect that B&G Foods, Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

B&G Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. B&G Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -223.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B&G Foods

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of B&G Foods by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in B&G Foods by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in B&G Foods by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,768 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in B&G Foods by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 248,716 shares of the company's stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in B&G Foods by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 55,725 shares of the company's stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.15% of the company's stock.

B&G Foods Company Profile

B&G Foods, Inc manufactures, sells, and distributes a portfolio of shelf-stable and frozen foods, and household products in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company's products include frozen and canned vegetables, vegetables, canola and other cooking oils, vegetable shortening, cooking sprays, oatmeal and other hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, wine vinegar, maple syrups, molasses, salad dressings, pizza crusts, Mexican-style sauces, dry soups, taco shells and kits, salsas, pickles, peppers, tomato-based products, crackers, baking powder and soda, corn starch, nut clusters, and other specialty products.