B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) Stock Price Up 3% – Still a Buy?

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) shot up 3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $6.66 and last traded at $6.63. 246,529 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,097,985 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BGS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of B&G Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, B&G Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.30.

B&G Foods Trading Up 3.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $528.79 million, a P/E ratio of -19.50 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.38.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $461.10 million for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that B&G Foods, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

B&G Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. B&G Foods’s payout ratio is currently -223.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric H. Hart purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.25 per share, with a total value of $31,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 88,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $555,618.75. This represents a 5.96 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jordan E. Greenberg sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.33, for a total transaction of $66,640.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,095 shares in the company, valued at $550,571.35. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 90,111 shares of company stock worth $593,054. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BGS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in B&G Foods by 1,556.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in B&G Foods by 22.1% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 24,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. boosted its holdings in B&G Foods by 7.5% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 41,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 324.8% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 52,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 39,914 shares during the last quarter. 66.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.