Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $97.80 and last traded at $98.18, with a volume of 71045 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MZTI shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $135.00.

Marzetti Trading Down 1.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $108.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.35.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter. Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 9.93%.The firm had revenue of $465.03 million for the quarter.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Marzetti’s payout ratio is presently 57.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marzetti

In other news, CEO Luis Viso sold 997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.81, for a total transaction of $100,507.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,548.07. This represents a 48.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marzetti

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the second quarter valued at $313,083,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Marzetti by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 803,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,177,000 after buying an additional 123,875 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth about $103,681,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Marzetti by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 555,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,873,000 after acquiring an additional 7,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Marzetti by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 370,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,290,000 after acquiring an additional 14,400 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Marzetti

Marzetti is a food manufacturer and marketer known for producing salad dressings, dips, sauces, frozen breads, pasta products and other specialty foods. Its products are sold through retail grocery channels and are also supplied to restaurants, foodservice operators and other institutional customers.

The company’s portfolio includes the Marzetti, Sister Schubert’s, New York Bakery, Flatout, Reames, Cardini’s and Girard’s brands, among others. Its offerings range from refrigerated and shelf-stable dressings and dips to frozen rolls, garlic bread, flatbreads, frozen noodles and related prepared foods.

Marzetti traces its origins to a restaurant opened by Teresa Marzetti in Columbus, Ohio, in 1896.