Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives $163.36 Average PT from Brokerages

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.36.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total value of $786,900.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,260,164.40. This trade represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,962,175 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Freshpet during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Freshpet by 3,670.0% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $158.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 177.56 and a beta of 1.41. Freshpet has a fifty-two week low of $84.02 and a fifty-two week high of $160.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $150.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.98.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The business had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.15) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Freshpet will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

About Freshpet

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.