Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT) Lowered to “Underweight” Rating by Morgan Stanley

Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT) was downgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $6.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $12.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 15.85% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Krispy Kreme from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.50.

Krispy Kreme Price Performance

NASDAQ:DNUT opened at $7.13 on Wednesday. Krispy Kreme has a 1 year low of $6.35 and a 1 year high of $17.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.40.

Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $404.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $413.18 million. Krispy Kreme had a return on equity of 0.53% and a net margin of 1.64%. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Krispy Kreme will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Krispy Kreme

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DNUT. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Krispy Kreme in the 4th quarter valued at about $152,305,000. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Krispy Kreme by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 13,069,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,398 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC increased its stake in Krispy Kreme by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 7,264,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,139,000 after buying an additional 2,186,136 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in Krispy Kreme during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,591,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its position in Krispy Kreme by 6,993.4% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 872,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,366,000 after buying an additional 859,774 shares during the period. 81.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces doughnuts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, Japan, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: U.S., International, and Market Development. The company offers doughnut experiences through hot light theater and fresh shops, delivered fresh daily branded cabinets and merchandising units within grocery and convenience stores, quick service restaurants, club memberships, drug stores, and ecommerce, as well as through its branded sweet treat line comprising Krispy Kreme branded sweet treats.