Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Seneca Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:SENEA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $188.07 and last traded at $187.9240, with a volume of 16583 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $179.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SENEA shares. Weiss Ratings raised Seneca Foods from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Seneca Foods from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Seneca Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Seneca Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Seneca Foods Stock Up 4.4%

The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of -0.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.04.

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.92 by ($0.07). Seneca Foods had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 6.75%.The firm had revenue of $405.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.00 million.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seneca Foods

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Seneca Foods by 667.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 46,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,717,000 after purchasing an additional 40,442 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Seneca Foods by 231.9% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 46,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,042,000 after buying an additional 32,635 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Seneca Foods by 10.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,891,000 after acquiring an additional 31,873 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Seneca Foods by 47.5% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 53,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,786,000 after acquiring an additional 17,271 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Seneca Foods by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 110,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,192,000 after acquiring an additional 12,409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.51% of the company’s stock.

Seneca Foods Company Profile

Seneca Foods Corporation is a leading producer and distributor of shelf-stable fruits, vegetables and fruit‐based products. The company’s core activities include the processing, packaging and sale of canned fruits and vegetables, natural fruit juices, apple sauces and fruit‐based snacks. Seneca Foods caters to both retail and foodservice markets, supplying national and international grocers, restaurant chains and food manufacturers with branded and private‐label products.

Seneca Foods operates a network of manufacturing facilities and cold storage warehouses across North America, with key processing plants in New York, Michigan, California and Canada.