Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT Shares Bought by Capital World Investors

Key Points

• Capital World Investors boosted its Freshpet stake by 151.8%, buying 893,949 shares to hold 1,482,778 shares (about a 3.04% stake) valued at roughly $81.72 million, while other institutions (Swiss National Bank, Russell Investments, Jefferies, Blair William & Co., etc.) also increased or initiated positions.
• Freshpet reported a strong quarter with EPS of $0.64 vs. $0.43 expected and revenue of $285.23M (up 8.6% YoY); the stock trades near $78 with a $3.83B market cap and a P/E of ~30, and analysts are split—average rating "Hold" with an average target of $76.47 even as several firms raised targets to $90 and issued upgrades.

Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 151.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,482,778 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 893,949 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned 3.04% of Freshpet worth $81,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Freshpet by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 94,550 shares of the company's stock worth $5,211,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Freshpet by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 100,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,528,000 after acquiring an additional 19,323 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at $490,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Freshpet by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Freshpet by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 34,138 shares of the company's stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 13,946 shares during the period.

Freshpet Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $78.04 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.47. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.76 and a fifty-two week high of $91.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 4.57, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Freshpet had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 12.63%.The firm had revenue of $285.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Freshpet's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FRPT shares. Weiss Ratings raised Freshpet from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen set a $60.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Freshpet from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.47.

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.

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