Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives $146.53 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $146.53.

Several research firms have recently commented on FRPT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Freshpet from $142.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

Freshpet Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $79.49 on Friday. Freshpet has a one year low of $77.15 and a one year high of $164.07. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.56 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $110.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.73.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at about $817,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,945,000 after buying an additional 28,743 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 4.7% in the third 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 last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,088,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Freshpet by 198.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after acquiring an additional 253,679 shares during the last quarter.

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.