UBS Group Initiates Coverage on BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR)

Equities researchers at UBS Group began coverage on shares of BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 9.02% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BRBR. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BellRing Brands in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BellRing Brands from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of BellRing Brands from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of BellRing Brands from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of BellRing Brands in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.25.

BellRing Brands Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE BRBR traded down $0.88 on Wednesday, hitting $74.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 321,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,211,581. The firm has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $72.29 and its 200 day moving average is $73.15. BellRing Brands has a 1-year low of $48.06 and a 1-year high of $80.67.

BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. BellRing Brands had a negative return on equity of 130.14% and a net margin of 13.32%. On average, equities analysts expect that BellRing Brands will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

BellRing Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 6th that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BellRing Brands news, Director Robert V. Vitale sold 5,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.30, for a total transaction of $384,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,166,691 shares in the company, valued at $87,851,832.30. This trade represents a 0.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Douglas J. Cornille sold 3,192 shares of BellRing Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.13, for a total transaction of $239,814.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,836 shares in the company, valued at $4,345,218.68. This trade represents a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 221,828 shares of company stock valued at $16,917,365 over the last 90 days. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BellRing Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of BellRing Brands by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the company's stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BellRing Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $439,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in BellRing Brands in the third quarter worth $338,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of BellRing Brands by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,480,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,646,000 after purchasing an additional 380,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in BellRing Brands by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,064 shares of the company's stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. 94.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BellRing Brands Company Profile

BellRing Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides various nutrition products in the United States. The company offers ready-to-drink (RTD) protein shakes, other RTD beverages, powders, nutrition bars, and other products primarily under the Premier Protein and Dymatize brands. It distributes its products through club, food, drug, mass, eCommerce, specialty, and convenience channels.