J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Downgraded to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $125.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $135.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $121.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $126.42.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 0.8 %

SJM traded down $0.97 on Friday, hitting $116.07. The company had a trading volume of 418,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,159,955. J. M. Smucker has a 12-month low of $105.69 and a 12-month high of $134.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $119.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.59. The company has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.24.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 8.77%. J. M. Smucker's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.82 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. J. M. Smucker's payout ratio is 60.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 1st quarter worth about $364,990,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 8.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,783,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,435,000 after purchasing an additional 135,158 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 14.4% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,526,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,403,000 after purchasing an additional 192,075 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,457,995 shares of the company's stock worth $183,518,000 after purchasing an additional 327,680 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,354,999 shares of the company's stock worth $147,749,000 after purchasing an additional 486,624 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by 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.