The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.86.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CPB. Citigroup cut their price objective on Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays cut their price target on Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at $693,486.90. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Campbell Soup

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,005 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Campbell Soup by 272.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,243,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,949,000 after buying an additional 1,641,400 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 1,296.1% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,407,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,372 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,645,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,908,000. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Campbell Soup Trading Up 0.4 %

CPB opened at $39.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15. Campbell Soup has a 52 week low of $36.92 and a 52 week high of $52.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.03.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. Campbell Soup’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.17%.

Campbell Soup Company Profile

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.