J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

SJM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.00.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 2.5 %

SJM stock traded down $2.93 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $114.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,595,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,125,694. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. J. M. Smucker has a 52-week low of $98.77 and a 52-week high of $127.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its earnings results 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. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,942. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 1,329.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.