Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Director Craig Steeneck Buys 2,000 Shares of Stock

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Director Craig Steeneck acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $47.83 per share, for a total transaction of $95,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 37,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,625. This represents a 5.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Freshpet stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,708,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,533,494. Freshpet, Inc. has a one year low of $46.45 and a one year high of $86.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 5.26 and a current ratio of 6.18.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.21. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 6.22%. The firm had revenue of $285.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimize Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 10,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Freshpet by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 55.0% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam increased its holdings in Freshpet by 81.1% during the second quarter. Ossiam now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.88.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.