J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

SJM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.25.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

SJM opened at $120.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.26. J. M. Smucker has a 1-year low of $105.69 and a 1-year high of $134.62.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 8.77%. J. M. Smucker’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that J. M. Smucker will post 9.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark T. Smucker sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.16, for a total value of $1,101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,675,871.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,515,000 after purchasing an additional 518,433 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 1st quarter valued at $364,990,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,783,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,435,000 after purchasing an additional 135,158 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,526,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,403,000 after purchasing an additional 192,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 29.0% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,457,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,518,000 after acquiring an additional 327,680 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J. M. Smucker Company Profile

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.