BellRing Brands, Inc. (NYSE:BRBR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

BellRing Brands, Inc. (NYSE:BRBR) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,230,000 shares, a growth of 26.0% from the January 31st total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

BellRing Brands Trading Down 0.7 %

BRBR stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.92. 325,912 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,113,709. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.44. BellRing Brands has a 52-week low of $48.06 and a 52-week high of $80.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.85.

BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. BellRing Brands had a negative return on equity of 130.14% and a net margin of 13.32%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BellRing Brands will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BellRing Brands announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 6th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert V. Vitale sold 15,000 shares of BellRing Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.06, for a total transaction of $1,095,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 818,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,776,230.80. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 218,636 shares of company stock valued at $16,677,550 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BellRing Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BellRing Brands by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,438,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,419,000 after acquiring an additional 135,105 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of BellRing Brands by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 6,701,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,903,000 after purchasing an additional 494,669 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in BellRing Brands by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,577,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,885,000 after buying an additional 96,991 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in BellRing Brands by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,266,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,429,000 after buying an additional 1,121,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of BellRing Brands by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,886,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,001,000 after acquiring an additional 50,339 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRBR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of BellRing Brands in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of BellRing Brands from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of BellRing Brands from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of BellRing Brands from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on BellRing Brands from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.87.

BellRing Brands Company Profile

BellRing Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides various nutrition products in the United States. The company offers ready-to-drink (RTD) protein shakes, other RTD beverages, powders, nutrition bars, and other products primarily under the Premier Protein and Dymatize brands. It distributes its products through club, food, drug, mass, eCommerce, specialty, and convenience channels.