John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $127.40 and last traded at $126.98, with a volume of 151194 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $125.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JBT shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on John Bean Technologies in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. CJS Securities began coverage on shares of John Bean Technologies in a research note on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock.

John Bean Technologies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $114.08 and a 200 day moving average of $100.65. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.24.

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

John Bean Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. John Bean Technologies’s payout ratio is 7.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Bean Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of John Bean Technologies by 192.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 5,865 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of John Bean Technologies by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 24,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,325 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of John Bean Technologies by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 393,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,752,000 after purchasing an additional 11,474 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of John Bean Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $945,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in John Bean Technologies by 37.2% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 236,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,495,000 after buying an additional 64,280 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.