Deepwater Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Deepwater Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 190,301 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,768 shares during the quarter. Freshpet makes up 4.2% of Deepwater Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Deepwater Asset Management LLC owned 0.39% of Freshpet worth $10,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Freshpet by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 42,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,894,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Ossiam boosted its position in Freshpet by 81.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ossiam now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 15,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Freshpet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freshpet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Freshpet from $65.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,142 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total transaction of $320,500.86. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 30,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,923,379.14. The trade was a 14.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.43% of the company’s stock.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $84.11 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Freshpet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.76 and a twelve month high of $97.18. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.45.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $285.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.66 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.