Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Given a $90.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) has been assigned a $90.00 target price by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 24.56% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on FRPT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Freshpet from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Freshpet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $96.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.00.

Freshpet Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT traded down $2.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $72.26. The company had a trading volume of 572,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 894,527. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. Freshpet has a 12-month low of $71.00 and a 12-month high of $164.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.89 and a beta of 1.86.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $263.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.57 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. Freshpet’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freshpet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Freshpet by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,945,000 after buying an additional 28,743 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,088,000 after acquiring an additional 2,291 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 98,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,586,000 after acquiring an additional 6,776 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 406.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,860,000 after buying an additional 42,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Freshpet by 198.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after purchasing an additional 253,679 shares during the period.

About Freshpet

Freshpet, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and markets natural fresh meals and treats for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells dog food, cat food, and dog treats under the Freshpet brand name; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online.