Yousif Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $598,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,029,000. Signaturefd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marzetti Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:MZTI opened at $136.80 on Friday. The Marzetti Company has a twelve month low of $133.79 and a twelve month high of $193.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $151.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.53. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.47.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $509.77 million during the quarter. Marzetti had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.55%. Marzetti’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MZTI. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target on Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marzetti presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.67.

About Marzetti

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.