B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) Trading Up 3.7% – Time to Buy?

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS)’s share price rose 3.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $6.73 and last traded at $6.68. Approximately 1,209,889 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 1,102,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BGS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.30.

B&G Foods Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $7.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.36. The company has a market cap of $528.79 million, a P/E ratio of -19.65 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 issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $461.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $473.82 million. B&G Foods had a positive return on equity of 6.97% and a negative net margin of 1.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that B&G Foods, Inc. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

B&G Foods Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at B&G Foods

In related news, EVP Scott E. Lerner acquired 7,611 shares of B&G Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.57 per share, for a total transaction of $50,004.27. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 196,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,680.35. This represents a 4.02 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Sherrill bought 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.63 per share, for a total transaction of $464,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 353,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,946.92. This trade represents a 24.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 90,111 shares of company stock worth $593,054. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On B&G Foods

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of B&G Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of B&G Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of B&G Foods by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in B&G Foods by 1,556.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 4,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in B&G Foods during the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.