John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 672,774 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 126% from the previous session’s volume of 297,429 shares.The stock last traded at $130.56 and had previously closed at $127.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JBT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on John Bean Technologies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. CJS Securities assumed coverage on shares of John Bean Technologies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock.

John Bean Technologies Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $117.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.24.

John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. John Bean Technologies had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 10.16%. The company had revenue of $453.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that John Bean Technologies Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

John Bean Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. John Bean Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 7.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBT. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in John Bean Technologies by 57.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,279,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $121,507,000 after acquiring an additional 466,846 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of John Bean Technologies by 7.2% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 858,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,573,000 after purchasing an additional 57,371 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of John Bean Technologies by 170.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 842,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,964,000 after buying an additional 531,298 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of John Bean Technologies by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 778,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,908,000 after buying an additional 19,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in John Bean Technologies by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 729,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,912,000 after buying an additional 3,440 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.92% of the company’s stock.

John Bean Technologies Company Profile

John Bean Technologies Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers value-added processing that includes chilling, mixing/grinding, injecting, blending, marinating, tumbling, flattening, forming, portioning, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, extracting, pasteurizing, sterilizing, concentrating, high pressure processing, weighing, inspecting, filling, closing, sealing, end of line material handling, and packaging solutions to the food, beverage, and health market.