Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $152.17 and last traded at $156.10, with a volume of 172175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MZTI shares. Stephens reduced their target price on Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $184.00 target price on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $188.00.

Marzetti Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $165.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.27.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.08). Marzetti had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $509.77 million during the quarter. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is 61.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marzetti

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MZTI. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.