B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) Shares Up 1.2% – Here’s Why

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS)’s stock price shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.70 and last traded at $6.62. 245,704 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,094,306 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BGS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of B&G Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.30.

B&G Foods Trading Up 3.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $7.97 and its 200-day moving average is $8.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $529.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.50 and a beta of 0.61.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $461.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $473.82 million. B&G Foods had a positive return on equity of 6.97% and a negative net margin of 1.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that B&G Foods, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

B&G Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.37%. B&G Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -223.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen Sherrill purchased 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.63 per share, with a total value of $464,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 353,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,946.92. The trade was a 24.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eric H. Hart bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.25 per share, for a total transaction of $31,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $555,618.75. This represents a 5.96 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 90,111 shares of company stock valued at $593,054 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of B&G Foods by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 710,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,739,000 after purchasing an additional 134,937 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in B&G Foods during the second quarter valued at about $958,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in B&G Foods by 16.1% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of B&G Foods by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 78,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of B&G Foods by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 54,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.15% of the company’s stock.

B&G Foods Company Profile

B&G Foods, Inc manufactures, sells, and distributes a portfolio of shelf-stable and frozen foods, and household products in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company's products include frozen and canned vegetables, vegetables, canola and other cooking oils, vegetable shortening, cooking sprays, oatmeal and other hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, wine vinegar, maple syrups, molasses, salad dressings, pizza crusts, Mexican-style sauces, dry soups, taco shells and kits, salsas, pickles, peppers, tomato-based products, crackers, baking powder and soda, corn starch, nut clusters, and other specialty products.