J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Shares Up 2.8% - Still a Buy?

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 2.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $119.37 and last traded at $119.56. 255,056 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,169,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SJM shares. Barclays cut their target price on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of 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. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $125.67.

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J. M. Smucker Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $108.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -179.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 188.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.