Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on SMPL. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down from $24.00) on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $19.00 target price on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Simply Good Foods from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $17.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Simply Good Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.82.

Simply Good Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ SMPL opened at $12.44 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.45 and a beta of 0.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.07. Simply Good Foods has a twelve month low of $10.21 and a twelve month high of $34.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $326.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.08 million. Simply Good Foods had a negative net margin of 7.46% and a positive return on equity of 9.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Simply Good Foods will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James M. Kilts acquired 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $991,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 172,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,141,661.06. This represents a 86.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Clayton C. Daley, Jr. acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.78 per share, for a total transaction of $117,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 111,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,316,332.54. The trade was a 9.83% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Simply Good Foods

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,631,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $213,479,000 after purchasing an additional 249,405 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 468.7% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 208,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,172,000 after purchasing an additional 171,745 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 230.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 690,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,873,000 after purchasing an additional 481,952 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 2,413.6% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 173,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 166,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clark Estates Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Simply Good Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,986,000. 88.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simply Good Foods Company Profile

Simply Good Foods Co (NASDAQ: SMPL) is a North American consumer packaged foods company specializing in better-for-you nutrition products. The company’s portfolio centers on two well-established brands, Atkins and Quest, which offer a range of low-carbohydrate, high-protein bars, powders, shakes, and snacks. Simply Good Foods aims to support consumers’ health and wellness goals by delivering convenient, nutrient-dense options without added sugars or artificial sweeteners.

Under the Atkins brand, the company produces meal replacements, snack bars, and ready-to-drink shakes designed for low-carb dieters.