Blue Buffalo Pet Products (NASDAQ:BUFF) had its price target upped by research analysts at Citigroup from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.49% from the company’s current price.
Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BUFF. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Susquehanna Bancshares raised their price target on Blue Buffalo Pet Products from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, September 21st. BidaskClub upgraded Blue Buffalo Pet Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. Wells Fargo & Co upgraded Blue Buffalo Pet Products to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Blue Buffalo Pet Products from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.15.
Blue Buffalo Pet Products (BUFF) traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,930,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,911. The stock has a market cap of $6,540.00 and a PE ratio of 38.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 3.62. Blue Buffalo Pet Products has a fifty-two week low of $21.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.63.
In other news, CEO William W. Bishop, Jr. sold 3,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total value of $89,103.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 648,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,177,414.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Nathenson sold 62,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.72, for a total value of $2,051,805.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,068 shares of company stock valued at $5,576,613 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,072,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,330,000 after acquiring an additional 310,094 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products by 360.6% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,320,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599,478 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,715,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,941,000 after acquiring an additional 488,800 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,448,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,409,000 after acquiring an additional 314,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,401,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,074,000 after acquiring an additional 76,944 shares during the last quarter. 94.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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Blue Buffalo Pet Products Company Profile
Blue Buffalo Pet Products, Inc (BBPP) is a holding company. The Company operates as a pet food company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, develops, produces, markets and sells pet food under product lines, including BLUE Life Protection Formula, BLUE Wilderness, BLUE Basics, BLUE Freedom and BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet lines.
