Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CPB. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Campbell Soup from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the company from $45.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $46.56.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of CPB opened at $45.60 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $44.91 and its 200-day moving average is $44.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Campbell Soup has a 12 month low of $37.94 and a 12 month high of $46.97.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 5th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 23.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Campbell Soup will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Campbell Soup’s payout ratio is 59.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Campbell Soup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 16.6% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,548,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,983,000 after buying an additional 1,219,301 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 21.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,315,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,375,000 after purchasing an additional 580,411 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Campbell Soup in the fourth quarter valued at $125,689,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,688,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,001,000 after purchasing an additional 49,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 62.3% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,453,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,714,000 after purchasing an additional 557,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.