Connors Investor Services Inc. Purchases 17,210 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 46.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,342 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,210 shares during the period. Connors Investor Services Inc. owned 0.11% of Freshpet worth $2,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FRPT. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 86.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 67,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,624,000 after buying an additional 31,334 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 734.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 1st quarter valued at about $247,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 5.9% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 95,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,504,000 after buying an additional 5,366 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in Freshpet by 5.7% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 17,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 958 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $67.42 on Wednesday. Freshpet, Inc. has a one year low of $46.76 and a one year high of $89.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.57 and its 200 day moving average is $61.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 4.57 and a current ratio of 5.54.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.21. Freshpet had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $285.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FRPT shares. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Freshpet from $65.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research raised Freshpet from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Freshpet from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.47.

About Freshpet

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.