The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $128.56.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BNP Paribas upgraded J. M. Smucker to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,846 shares of the company's stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 6,703.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 159,873 shares of the company's stock worth $17,433,000 after acquiring an additional 157,523 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,174 shares of the company's stock worth $3,043,000 after acquiring an additional 9,250 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 127,618 shares of the company's stock worth $13,915,000 after acquiring an additional 15,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in J. M. Smucker by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,169,000 after purchasing an additional 958,142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $116.46. 1,103,530 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,424,732. The company's 50 day moving average is $116.14 and its 200 day moving average is $115.76. J. M. Smucker has a one year low of $105.69 and a one year high of $134.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.26.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. J. M. Smucker's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that J. M. Smucker will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.45%.

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.