StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT)

Equities researchers at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on John Bean Technologies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. CJS Securities initiated coverage on shares of John Bean Technologies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company.

John Bean Technologies Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. John Bean Technologies has a 52 week low of $82.64 and a 52 week high of $132.69. The company’s 50 day moving average is $121.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.92.

John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. John Bean Technologies had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 10.16%. The business had revenue of $453.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that John Bean Technologies will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of John Bean Technologies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in John Bean Technologies by 111.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of John Bean Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of John Bean Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in John Bean Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $85,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in John Bean Technologies by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,014 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.92% of the company’s stock.

About John Bean Technologies

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.