Blue Buffalo Pet Products (BUFF) Downgraded to Hold at Deutsche Bank

Blue Buffalo Pet Products (NASDAQ:BUFF) was downgraded by research analysts at Deutsche Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports.

BUFF has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products in a research report on Friday, November 10th. J P Morgan Chase & Co boosted their price target on shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, Gabelli assumed coverage on shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.36.

Shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products (NASDAQ BUFF) traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.96. 1,187,027 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,414,462. Blue Buffalo Pet Products has a one year low of $21.51 and a one year high of $32.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 3.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6,344.10, a PE ratio of 36.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.95.

Blue Buffalo Pet Products (NASDAQ:BUFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. Blue Buffalo Pet Products had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 86.23%. The company had revenue of $340.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Blue Buffalo Pet Products’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. equities analysts anticipate that Blue Buffalo Pet Products will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

In other Blue Buffalo Pet Products news, CEO William W. Bishop, Jr. sold 3,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total value of $89,103.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 648,730 shares in the company, valued at $18,177,414.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider William W. Bishop, Jr. sold 21,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.58, for a total transaction of $605,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 655,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,722,472.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,235 shares of company stock worth $1,969,071. Corporate insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BUFF. Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products by 6.5% in the second quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products by 9.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products in the second quarter worth approximately $138,000. First Mercantile Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products by 29.0% in the second quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 7,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products by 62.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 2,494 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.24% of the company’s stock.

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About Blue Buffalo Pet Products

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.