SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $43,000 in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Freshpet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $817,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Freshpet by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,945,000 after purchasing an additional 28,743 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,650,000 after purchasing an additional 37,287 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 166.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 84,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,519,000 after purchasing an additional 52,584 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 198.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,065,000 after purchasing an additional 253,679 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” 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 decreased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Freshpet from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.67.

Freshpet Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of FRPT opened at $83.78 on Wednesday. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.27 and a 1 year high of $164.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 89.13 and a beta of 1.58.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Freshpet

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.