Gabelli Funds LLC Acquires 12,500 Shares of The Simply Good Foods Company $SMPL

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in The Simply Good Foods Company by 14.4%, holding approximately 99,500 shares valued at around $3.43 million.
• Simply Good Foods recently reported $0.51 earnings per share, matching analyst estimates, with a revenue of $380.96 million, up 13.8% year-over-year.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for Simply Good Foods, with Citigroup lowering theirs from $43.00 to $40.00, while maintaining a "buy" rating.

Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Free Report) by 14.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.10% of Simply Good Foods worth $3,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Simply Good Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,863,000. Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simply Good Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $288,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Simply Good Foods by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 999,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,959,000 after purchasing an additional 96,593 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simply Good Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $251,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Simply Good Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $9,804,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Simply Good Foods

In related news, CEO Geoff E. Tanner purchased 6,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $33.11 per share, with a total value of $200,315.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,251,070.90. This represents a 6.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Simply Good Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Simply Good Foods from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Simply Good Foods from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price target on shares of Simply Good Foods and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Simply Good Foods from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Simply Good Foods has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.88.

Simply Good Foods Stock Performance

Simply Good Foods stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $28.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,012,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,189,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 3.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.59. The Simply Good Foods Company has a 12-month low of $28.14 and a 12-month high of $40.53. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $30.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.71.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Simply Good Foods had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 9.97%.The business had revenue of $380.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $381.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Simply Good Foods Company will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simply Good Foods Profile

The Simply Good Foods Company operates as a consumer-packaged food and beverage company in North America and internationally. The company develops, markets, and sells snacks and meal replacements. It offers protein bars, ready-to-drink shakes, sweet and salty snacks, cookies, protein chips, and recipes under the Atkins and Quest brand names.