Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Seneca Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:SENEA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $197.76 and last traded at $198.5310, with a volume of 7704 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $192.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SENEA has been the topic of several research reports. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Seneca Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Seneca Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Seneca Foods from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Seneca Foods Stock Up 2.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of -0.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.92 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $405.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.00 million. Seneca Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 14.96%.

Institutional Trading of Seneca Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Seneca Foods in the fourth quarter worth $722,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Seneca Foods by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,393,000 after buying an additional 9,273 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Seneca Foods in the 1st quarter worth about $1,140,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Seneca Foods by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 57,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,685,000 after buying an additional 13,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in Seneca Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,808,000. 42.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Seneca Foods

Seneca Foods Corporation is a leading producer and distributor of shelf-stable fruits, vegetables and fruit‐based products. The company’s core activities include the processing, packaging and sale of canned fruits and vegetables, natural fruit juices, apple sauces and fruit‐based snacks. Seneca Foods caters to both retail and foodservice markets, supplying national and international grocers, restaurant chains and food manufacturers with branded and private‐label products.

Seneca Foods operates a network of manufacturing facilities and cold storage warehouses across North America, with key processing plants in New York, Michigan, California and Canada.