Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 22,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,905,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 509,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,371,000 after purchasing an additional 11,416 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 19.7% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 76,972 shares of the company's stock worth $6,402,000 after purchasing an additional 12,670 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 55,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,638,000 after buying an additional 6,823 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Freshpet by 7.1% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 7.5% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 186,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,496,000 after purchasing an additional 13,004 shares during the period.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.3%

Freshpet stock traded up $0.21 on Friday, hitting $72.16. 208,166 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 955,946. The company has a current ratio of 4.91, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 232.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.79. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $76.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.07. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.75 and a 1 year high of $164.07.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $263.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $265.57 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 3.16%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FRPT shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Freshpet in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Freshpet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $119.14.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.