Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Seneca Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:SENEA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $168.21, but opened at $176.56. Seneca Foods shares last traded at $174.3860, with a volume of 6,097 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SENEA shares. Freedom Capital cut 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 “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Seneca Foods from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Freedom Broker raised shares of Seneca Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $202.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Seneca Foods has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Seneca Foods Stock Down 2.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of -0.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Shares of Seneca Foods are scheduled to split on Tuesday, November 17th. The 5-1 split was recently announced. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, November 16th.

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $5.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.82 by $1.25. The company had revenue of $492.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $506.00 million. Seneca Foods had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 15.73%.

Insider Transactions at Seneca Foods

In other Seneca Foods news, VP Dean Erstad sold 1,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total value of $327,175.92. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 609 shares in the company, valued at $125,551.44. The trade was a 72.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Seneca Foods

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Seneca Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Seneca Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Seneca Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Seneca Foods by 88.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Seneca Foods by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.51% of the company’s stock.

About Seneca Foods

Seneca Foods Corporation is a U.S. food processor and packager specializing in fruits and vegetables. Its products include canned and frozen vegetables and fruits, as well as snack foods. The company sells products under brands including Seneca, Libby’s, Aunt Nellie’s and Green Giant, and also produces food for retailer and foodservice customers under private labels. Its products are distributed in the United States and other markets. Founded in 1949, Seneca Foods is headquartered in Marion, New York, and operates processing and packaging facilities in agricultural regions across the United States.