The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) to Issue $0.39 Quarterly Dividend

The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.39 per share on Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd.

Campbell Soup has raised its dividend by an average of 0.5% per year over the last three years. Campbell Soup has a payout ratio of 47.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Campbell Soup to earn $3.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.1%.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

CPB opened at $39.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.57 and a 200-day moving average of $44.70. Campbell Soup has a 52-week low of $36.92 and a 52-week high of $52.81. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.02. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Campbell Soup will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Campbell Soup from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $693,486.90. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Company Profile

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.