Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a hold rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Argus upgraded Campbell Soup from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $59.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Campbell Soup from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $49.85.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

Campbell Soup stock opened at $49.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.34. Campbell Soup has a 52-week low of $37.94 and a 52-week high of $52.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 24.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Campbell Soup will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Campbell Soup’s payout ratio is presently 59.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Campbell Soup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPB. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,709,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,603,000 after purchasing an additional 161,392 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 21.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,315,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,375,000 after acquiring an additional 580,411 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 14.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,876,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,971,000 after acquiring an additional 363,736 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Campbell Soup by 5,022.5% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,438,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Campbell Soup by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,246,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,554,000 after purchasing an additional 85,099 shares during the period. 52.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Campbell Soup

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.