J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Shares Down 10.1% – Time to Sell?

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF)’s share price traded down 10.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $78.23 and last traded at $76.0880. 12,417 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 262,976 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of J & J Snack Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.00.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Down 7.0%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05 and a beta of 0.43.

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

J & J Snack Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. J & J Snack Foods’s payout ratio is currently 101.91%.

J & J Snack Foods announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J & J Snack Foods

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JJSF. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in J & J Snack Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,596,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 295.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 171,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,518,000 after buying an additional 128,301 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 962.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 107,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,301,000 after buying an additional 97,108 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 3,379.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 87,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,864,000 after purchasing an additional 84,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of J & J Snack Foods during the third quarter worth $7,045,000. 76.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J & J Snack Foods Company Profile

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.