Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $102.76 and last traded at $102.5260, with a volume of 17290 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $105.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Monday, August 17th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Marzetti in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $135.00.

Marzetti Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $111.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.41. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $465.03 million for the quarter. Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 9.93%.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Marzetti’s payout ratio is presently 57.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.31, for a total transaction of $133,467.51. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,924 shares in the company, valued at $210,312.44. The trade was a 38.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marzetti

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Marzetti by 3.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,710,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Marzetti by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 221,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,736,000 after acquiring an additional 30,731 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Marzetti in the 1st quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the 1st quarter valued at $2,310,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

About Marzetti

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.