Walter George Purchases 1,000 Shares of Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Stock

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Director Walter George bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.92 per share, for a total transaction of $64,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,359,350.32. This represents a 1.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.03. 1,065,741 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,460,567. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $65.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.45. Freshpet, Inc. has a one year low of $46.45 and a one year high of $86.00. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.35 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.28% and a return on equity of 5.97%. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FRPT shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Freshpet from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Freshpet from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (down from $77.00) on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.31.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Freshpet by 1.8% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in Freshpet by 456.0% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 116,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,906,000 after acquiring an additional 95,806 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 6.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 16,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth about $840,000.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet, Inc is a pet food company that develops, manufactures and markets fresh, refrigerated food and treats for dogs and cats. Its products are made with ingredients such as meat, poultry, fish, vegetables and other nutrients, and are positioned as an alternative to conventional shelf-stable pet food.

The company sells products primarily under the Freshpet brand, including refrigerated meals, rolls, recipes and treats. Freshpet products are distributed through grocery stores, mass retailers, pet specialty stores, natural and specialty food retailers, and e-commerce channels.