Short Interest in B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) Drops By 5.6%

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) was the target of a large drop in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,300,000 shares, a drop of 5.6% from the May 15th total of 7,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other B&G Foods news, Director Stephen Sherrill acquired 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.59 per share, for a total transaction of $1,073,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 270,136 shares in the company, valued at $2,320,468.24. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Stephen Sherrill acquired 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.59 per share, for a total transaction of $1,073,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 270,136 shares in the company, valued at $2,320,468.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bruce C. Wacha bought 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.59 per share, for a total transaction of $44,668.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 91,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,507.52. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 141,955 shares of company stock worth $1,218,453. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of B&G Foods

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,757,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,450,000 after buying an additional 181,724 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of B&G Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,159,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in B&G Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $2,561,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in B&G Foods by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP raised its holdings in B&G Foods by 274.0% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 78,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 57,276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BGS. Piper Sandler raised B&G Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of B&G Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, B&G Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

B&G Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BGS opened at $8.35 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $9.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 3.22. B&G Foods has a 52-week low of $7.20 and a 52-week high of $15.15.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.02). B&G Foods had a negative net margin of 5.42% and a positive return on equity of 8.33%. The firm had revenue of $475.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.93 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that B&G Foods will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

B&G Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. B&G Foods’s payout ratio is -52.78%.

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.