J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $84.59, but opened at $78.35. J & J Snack Foods shares last traded at $78.2350, with a volume of 19,365 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut J & J Snack Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J & J Snack Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.00.

J & J Snack Foods Trading Down 3.8%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 0.43.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $344.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.67 million. J & J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 3.92%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J & J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. J & J Snack Foods’s payout ratio is 101.91%.

J & J Snack Foods announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JJSF. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of J & J Snack Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $228,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 122.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 72,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,566,000 after purchasing an additional 39,933 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in J & J Snack Foods by 465.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,391,000 after purchasing an additional 21,196 shares in the last quarter. 76.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About J & J Snack Foods

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ: JJSF) is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of branded snack foods and frozen beverages. Headquartered in Pennsauken, New Jersey, the company develops, produces and markets a broad array of proprietary and licensed products for retail, concession and foodservice customers. Its offerings span soft pretzels, frozen novelties, real Italian ice, churros and packaged beverages under well-known names such as ICEE, SuperPretzel, Luigi’s and ChurroMan.

Founded in 1971 by Gerald B.