Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Krispy Kreme in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Singular Research raised Krispy Kreme to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Capital One Financial decreased their target price on shares of Krispy Kreme from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Krispy Kreme from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Krispy Kreme has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.51.

Krispy Kreme Price Performance

DNUT stock opened at $3.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $621.82 million, a P/E ratio of -1.21 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.17 and its 200 day moving average is $3.74. Krispy Kreme has a 52 week low of $2.50 and a 52 week high of $9.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $375.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $378.29 million. Krispy Kreme had a negative net margin of 33.27% and a negative return on equity of 5.13%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Krispy Kreme will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Krispy Kreme

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DNUT. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Krispy Kreme in the third quarter worth about $11,704,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Krispy Kreme by 78.9% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,007,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326,212 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Krispy Kreme by 419.2% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,795,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,819,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257,061 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Krispy Kreme by 522.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,093,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756,932 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Krispy Kreme by 53.0% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,199,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 415,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.72% of the company’s stock.

About Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc (NASDAQ: DNUT) is a global retailer and wholesaler renowned for its signature Original Glazed doughnut and a variety of other sweet treats. The company operates through a combination of company-owned stores, franchise outlets and strategic partnerships with supermarkets, convenience stores and other foodservice channels. In addition to its doughnut portfolio, Krispy Kreme offers freshly brewed coffee, assorted beverages and proprietary seasonal items designed to drive traffic and foster brand loyalty.

Founded in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, by Vernon Rudolph, Krispy Kreme has grown from a single local shop to a multinational brand.