J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 893,200 shares, an increase of 18.6% from the January 15th total of 753,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 112,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.9 days. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

J&J Snack Foods Stock Performance

J&J Snack Foods stock traded down $5.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $124.85. The company had a trading volume of 115,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 164,248. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77 and a beta of 0.64. J&J Snack Foods has a 1-year low of $116.60 and a 1-year high of $180.80.

J&J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.29). J&J Snack Foods had a return on equity of 9.84% and a net margin of 5.31%. Analysts anticipate that J&J Snack Foods will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

J&J Snack Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. J&J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.89%.

Institutional Trading of J&J Snack Foods

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of J&J Snack Foods by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,653,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,457,000 after purchasing an additional 20,238 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in J&J Snack Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,620,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,899,000 after acquiring an additional 57,887 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of J&J Snack Foods by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 645,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,357 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in J&J Snack Foods by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 602,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,140,000 after buying an additional 17,062 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of J&J Snack Foods by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 526,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,649,000 after acquiring an additional 7,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of J&J Snack Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

About J&J Snack Foods

J&J Snack Foods Corp. engages in the manufacturing of nutritional snack foods and distribution of frozen beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries. It operates through the following segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. The Food Service segment includes soft pretzels, frozen novelties, churros, handheld products, and baked goods.