Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) Sets New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $36.65 and last traded at $36.61, with a volume of 2386385 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CPB. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Campbell Soup from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded Campbell Soup to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Campbell Soup from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Campbell Soup currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.86.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.00 and a 200-day moving average of $42.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19.

Remove Ads

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Campbell Soup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.17%.

Insider Activity at Campbell Soup

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were 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 directly owns 37,590 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,727.70. The trade was a 6.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 20.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Campbell Soup

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,005 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 272.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,243,300 shares of the company's stock worth $93,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641,400 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 1,296.1% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,407,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,372 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,645,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,556,000 after buying an additional 1,282,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,908,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.35% of the company's stock.

About Campbell Soup

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.