B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) Shares Up 1.2% – Still a Buy?

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS)’s share price rose 1.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $6.79 and last traded at $6.76. Approximately 183,533 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,098,261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of B&G Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, B&G Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.30.

B&G Foods Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $7.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.35. The company has a market cap of $528.79 million, a P/E ratio of -19.88 and a beta of 0.61.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $461.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $473.82 million. B&G Foods had a positive return on equity of 6.97% and a negative net margin of 1.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that B&G Foods, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

B&G Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.38%. B&G Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -223.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eric H. Hart acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.25 per share, with a total value of $31,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $555,618.75. This represents a 5.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Sherrill acquired 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.63 per share, with a total value of $464,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 353,084 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,946.92. This trade represents a 24.73 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 90,111 shares of company stock worth $593,054. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in B&G Foods during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in B&G Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in B&G Foods by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of B&G Foods by 1,556.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of B&G Foods in the first quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.15% of the company’s stock.

About B&G Foods

B&G Foods, Inc manufactures, sells, and distributes a portfolio of shelf-stable and frozen foods, and household products in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company's products include frozen and canned vegetables, vegetables, canola and other cooking oils, vegetable shortening, cooking sprays, oatmeal and other hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, wine vinegar, maple syrups, molasses, salad dressings, pizza crusts, Mexican-style sauces, dry soups, taco shells and kits, salsas, pickles, peppers, tomato-based products, crackers, baking powder and soda, corn starch, nut clusters, and other specialty products.