Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $40.33, but opened at $38.36. Campbell Soup shares last traded at $39.10, with a volume of 1,402,341 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler upgraded Campbell Soup from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. BNP Paribas raised Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.17.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 4.0 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Campbell Soup’s payout ratio is currently 85.25%.

Insider Activity

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $83,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,486.90. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Campbell Soup

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,625,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $989,440,000 after acquiring an additional 447,203 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,581,000 after purchasing an additional 298,203 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Campbell Soup by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,273,000 after acquiring an additional 531,281 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 6,925,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,034,000 after purchasing an additional 35,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,323,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,420,000 after buying an additional 57,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

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.