J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) shares reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $77.77 and last traded at $79.3150, with a volume of 120517 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on JJSF shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research lowered J & J Snack Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J & J Snack Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J & J Snack Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.00.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Down 5.1%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.02. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93 and a beta of 0.34.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. J & J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 3.92%.The business had revenue of $343.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

J & J Snack Foods Dividend Announcement

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

J & J Snack Foods announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 485.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 1,133.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 1,450.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 341 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 897.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

About J & J Snack Foods

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.