Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Freedom Capital cut Seneca Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Seneca Foods from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Seneca Foods Stock Performance

Shares of SENEA stock opened at $158.56 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $184.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.97. Seneca Foods has a 52 week low of $99.58 and a 52 week high of $210.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16 and a beta of -0.03. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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). Seneca Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The company had revenue of $405.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $327.00 million.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Dean Erstad sold 1,587 shares of Seneca Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.16, for a total transaction of $327,175.92. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 609 shares in the company, valued at $125,551.44. This trade represents a 72.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 8.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seneca Foods

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Seneca Foods by 0.7% during the third quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 20,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,603,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Seneca Foods by 88.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Seneca Foods by 73.5% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Seneca Foods in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Seneca Foods by 278.4% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,000 after buying an additional 3,883 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.51% of the company’s stock.

Seneca Foods Company Profile

Seneca Foods Corporation is a U.S.-based food processor and producer of packaged fruits and vegetables. The company supplies retail, food service, industrial and government customers with canned, frozen and prepared foods, including vegetables, fruits, applesauce, snack products and ingredients.

Seneca markets products under brands including Seneca, Libby’s, Green Giant, Aunt Nellie’s, READ and CherryMan, while also producing private-label goods for retailers and other food companies. Its product portfolio includes canned and frozen vegetables, fruit products, shelf-stable meals and ingredients used by commercial food manufacturers.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Marion, New York, Seneca operates processing and distribution facilities primarily in the United States and sources agricultural products from North American growing regions.