B&G Foods Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BGS)

B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 2,463 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 181% compared to the average volume of 877 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at B&G Foods

In other B&G Foods news, EVP Scott E. Lerner purchased 7,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.57 per share, for a total transaction of $50,004.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 196,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,680.35. The trade was a 4.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrew D. Vogel purchased 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.36 per share, with a total value of $47,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,727.04. This represents a 25.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 90,111 shares of company stock worth $593,054 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On B&G Foods

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BGS. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of B&G Foods by 310.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 130,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 98,824 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in B&G Foods by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,803,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,018,000 after acquiring an additional 24,995 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in B&G Foods by 1.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 181,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 3,359 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in B&G Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $962,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in B&G Foods in the third quarter worth $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BGS. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of B&G Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of B&G Foods from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.30.

B&G Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BGS opened at $7.55 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. B&G Foods has a 1-year low of $6.12 and a 1-year high of $11.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $597.66 million, a P/E ratio of -22.21 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.22.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). B&G Foods had a negative net margin of 1.34% and a positive return on equity of 6.97%. The business had revenue of $461.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $473.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that B&G Foods will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

B&G Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.07%. B&G Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently -223.52%.

About B&G Foods

B&G Foods, Inc manufactures, sells, and distributes a portfolio of shelf-stable and frozen foods, and household products in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company's products include frozen and canned vegetables, vegetables, canola and other cooking oils, vegetable shortening, cooking sprays, oatmeal and other hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, wine vinegar, maple syrups, molasses, salad dressings, pizza crusts, Mexican-style sauces, dry soups, taco shells and kits, salsas, pickles, peppers, tomato-based products, crackers, baking powder and soda, corn starch, nut clusters, and other specialty products.