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

The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.38.

CPB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price target on Campbell Soup from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $693,486.90. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Campbell Soup

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CPB. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,005 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 272.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,243,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641,400 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 1,296.1% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,407,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,372 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,282,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,908,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ:CPB opened at $39.18 on Thursday. Campbell Soup has a 1 year low of $36.92 and a 1 year high of $52.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.43.

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

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.25%.

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.