B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) have earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.30.

BGS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on 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.

B&G Foods Price Performance

BGS opened at $6.30 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.66. B&G Foods has a one year low of $6.25 and a one year high of $11.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $498.31 million, a P/E ratio of -18.51 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.64.

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

B&G Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. B&G Foods’s payout ratio is -223.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jordan E. Greenberg sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.33, for a total value of $66,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,095 shares in the company, valued at $550,571.35. This represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott E. Lerner bought 7,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.57 per share, with a total value of $50,004.27. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 196,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,680.35. This trade represents a 4.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 85,111 shares of company stock worth $561,804. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B&G Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BGS. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of B&G Foods by 71.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,640,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,254,000 after purchasing an additional 682,688 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in B&G Foods by 33.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,918,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,501,000 after acquiring an additional 485,714 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 626,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,065,000 after purchasing an additional 380,054 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in B&G Foods by 3,480.9% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 379,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,369,000 after acquiring an additional 368,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of B&G Foods by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 528,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,268,000 after purchasing an additional 144,146 shares in the last quarter. 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.