Freshpet’s (FRPT) Buy Rating Reiterated at Truist Financial

Truist Financial reiterated their buy rating on shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a $140.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $170.00.

Several other analysts also recently commented on FRPT. StockNews.com downgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Freshpet from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.47.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $107.09 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.61 and a 200 day moving average of $142.33. Freshpet has a 1 year low of $97.48 and a 1 year high of $164.07. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.93 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total transaction of $786,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,260,164.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. 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 owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,090,000 after acquiring an additional 46,844 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in Freshpet by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,881,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,809,000 after purchasing an additional 110,478 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 844,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,446,000 after purchasing an additional 9,081 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 810,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,065,000 after acquiring an additional 39,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,253,000.

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.