Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

CPB has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Campbell Soup from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Campbell Soup from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and upped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $46.56.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

Shares of CPB stock opened at $45.47 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.01. The company has a market cap of $13.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Campbell Soup has a 12-month low of $37.94 and a 12-month high of $46.97.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.05. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.26% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. Campbell Soup’s payout ratio is currently 59.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Campbell Soup by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 6,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in Campbell Soup by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 12,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in Campbell Soup by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 6,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Campbell Soup by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Campbell Soup by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Campbell Soup

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.