Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.4286.

FRPT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Freshpet from $70.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Freshpet from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $90.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 63,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.21, for a total value of $3,485,683.35. Following the sale, the president directly owned 160,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,859,879.96. This trade represents a 28.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Walter N. George purchased 1,000 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.57 per share, with a total value of $52,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 46,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,445,924.39. This trade represents a 2.20% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 6,008 shares of company stock worth $332,305. Company insiders own 4.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth about $648,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 282,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,524,000 after purchasing an additional 67,866 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 688.5% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 96,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,029,000 after purchasing an additional 84,299 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 68.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 227,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,817,000 after purchasing an additional 92,612 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 131.0% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 106,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,852,000 after purchasing an additional 60,352 shares during the period.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $53.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 4.61 and a current ratio of 5.52. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $46.76 and a 1 year high of $164.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.54. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.76.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $1.43. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 11.44%.The firm had revenue of $288.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. Freshpet’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.