Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Has $4.05 Million Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 24.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,279 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.12% of Freshpet worth $4,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.2% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 16,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 18,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Freshpet by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRPT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Freshpet from $90.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Freshpet from $100.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $101.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Freshpet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.43.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $53.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.76. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.76 and a 52 week high of $164.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.05.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $1.43. The firm had revenue of $288.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.73 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The company’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other news, Director Jacki Sue Kelley acquired 814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $56.50 per share, with a total value of $45,991.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,907 shares in the company, valued at $672,745.50. The trade was a 7.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy R. Mclevish acquired 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $56.00 per share, for a total transaction of $196,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 35,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,240. The trade was a 11.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 6,008 shares of company stock valued at $332,305. Corporate insiders own 4.43% of the company’s stock.

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.