Man Group plc Takes $10.17 Million Position in The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL)

Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 260,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,170,000. Man Group plc owned about 0.26% of Simply Good Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 45,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 15,275 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 255.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 141,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,512,000 after purchasing an additional 45,738 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 396.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 165,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,744,000 after acquiring an additional 131,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Simply Good Foods by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,033,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,301,000 after acquiring an additional 43,874 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.45% of the company's stock.

Simply Good Foods Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:SMPL opened at $36.58 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The Simply Good Foods Company has a 12 month low of $31.25 and a 12 month high of $40.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.77. The company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Simply Good Foods had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm had revenue of $359.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Simply Good Foods Company will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Simply Good Foods in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $41.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Simply Good Foods from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on Simply Good Foods from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Simply Good Foods from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Simply Good Foods news, SVP Stuart E. Jr. Heflin sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.25, for a total value of $186,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $478,252.75. This trade represents a 28.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Simply Good Foods Company 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.

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