Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) Short Interest Update

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,630,000 shares, an increase of 7.1% from the October 15th total of 11,790,000 shares. Approximately 6.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Campbell Soup news, VP Stanley Polomski sold 8,000 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total transaction of $346,800.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 33,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,572.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 20.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Campbell Soup

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 1.8% in the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 25,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Consulting Group Inc increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 5.1% in the first quarter. Vantage Consulting Group Inc now owns 4,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 0.4% in the first quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 54,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 5.3% in the second quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 4,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 50.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CPB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Stephens started coverage on Campbell Soup in a research note on Friday, October 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on Campbell Soup in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Friday, September 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.36.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CPB traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.88. The company had a trading volume of 5,030,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,564,496. Campbell Soup has a twelve month low of $37.94 and a twelve month high of $57.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 31st. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 9.17%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Campbell Soup will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 5th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 4th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.75%.

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.