What Happened?
Shares of packaged foods company J.M Smucker (NYSE: SJM) jumped 2.8% in the morning session after Bernstein raised its price target on the stock to $110 from $94.
The firm maintained its Market Perform rating on the shares. The positive sentiment was also supported by the company's decision to raise its free cash flow guidance for fiscal year 2026 by $100 million, citing expected tax benefits. This analyst action aligns with a generally favorable view on Wall Street, where the stock holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from a pool of fifteen analysts. The average target price among these analysts stands at $119.69, suggesting further potential upside.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $110.05, up 3.1% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy J. M. Smucker? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What Is The Market Telling Us
J. M. Smucker’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 3 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock dropped 3.7% on the news that the company reported disappointing second-quarter financial results that missed analyst expectations on profit. For the quarter, net sales were flat year-over-year at $2.11 billion, which met Wall Street estimates. However, adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.90, missing consensus estimates and marking a 22% decrease from the prior year. The company's profitability was significantly challenged, with the gross profit margin dropping by roughly 40% and the operating margin falling by nearly 87%, driven by higher input costs. Adding to the concerns, sales volumes fell 4% year-on-year, indicating the business struggled to move its products. Overall, it was a weak quarter for the company, with misses on key metrics like adjusted earnings and EBITDA.
J. M. Smucker is down 1.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $110.05 per share, it is trading 9.6% below its 52-week high of $121.73 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of J. M. Smucker’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $915.73.
Here at StockStory, we certainly understand the potential of thematic investing. Diverse winners from Microsoft (MSFT) to Alphabet (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO) to Monster Beverage (MNST) could all have been identified as promising growth stories with a megatrend driving the growth. So, in that spirit, we’ve identified a relatively under-the-radar profitable growth stock benefiting from the rise of AI, available to you FREE via this link.
