J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $111.85, but opened at $105.00. J. M. Smucker shares last traded at $96.43, with a volume of 2,238,811 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SJM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.30.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 13.3%

The stock has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $113.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.21. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is presently -179.25%.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,390.44. The trade was a 36.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SJM. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,243,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 254,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,133,000 after buying an additional 17,539 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker in the first quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 3.7% during the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 17,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,017,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.