B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) Short Interest Update

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,210,000 shares, an increase of 31.2% from the October 31st total of 7,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.6 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B&G Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of B&G Foods by 33.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,918,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,501,000 after purchasing an additional 485,714 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,803,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,018,000 after buying an additional 24,995 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,640,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,254,000 after buying an additional 682,688 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of B&G Foods by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,200,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,696,000 after acquiring an additional 5,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of B&G Foods by 23.5% during the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 710,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,739,000 after acquiring an additional 134,937 shares during the last quarter. 66.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BGS shares. Evercore ISI reduced 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 research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays decreased their target price on B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of B&G Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.30.

B&G Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BGS opened at $6.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $7.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $528.79 million, a P/E ratio of -19.65 and a beta of 0.61. B&G Foods has a 1 year low of $6.12 and a 1 year high of $11.97.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $461.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that B&G Foods will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

B&G Foods Dividend Announcement

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

About B&G Foods

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.