Truist Financial Reaffirms Buy Rating for Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Truist Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $140.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $170.00. Truist Financial’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 30.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on FRPT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.47.

Freshpet Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of FRPT opened at $106.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. Freshpet has a 52-week low of $97.48 and a 52-week high of $164.07. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.70 and a beta of 1.42.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The company had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. Analysts predict that Freshpet will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total transaction of $786,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,260,164.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at $817,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,650,000 after buying an additional 37,287 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,465,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 166.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 84,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,519,000 after buying an additional 52,584 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Freshpet by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,945,000 after acquiring an additional 28,743 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and markets natural fresh meals and treats for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells dog food, cat food, and dog treats under the Freshpet brand name; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online.