Northern Trust Corp Increases Position in The Simply Good Foods Company $SMPL

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in The Simply Good Foods Company by 1.0%, now holding 1,009,257 shares valued at approximately $34.81 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Simply Good Foods, with a consensus price target of $39.88 and five analysts rating it as a "Buy" while three issued a "Hold" rating.
• CEO Geoff E. Tanner bought 6,050 shares at around $33.11 each, raising his ownership to 98,190 shares valued at about $3.25 million.

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,009,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,802 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.00% of Simply Good Foods worth $34,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 52.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,539,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,087,000 after acquiring an additional 527,089 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Simply Good Foods by 3,306.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 460,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,963,000 after purchasing an additional 447,300 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in Simply Good Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,509,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simply Good Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,151,000. Finally, Prospector Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simply Good Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $10,188,000. 88.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Simply Good Foods from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group set a $36.00 price objective on Simply Good Foods and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Simply Good Foods from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Simply Good Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Simply Good Foods from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Simply Good Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.88.

Simply Good Foods Stock Down 0.5%

SMPL stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $28.53. 1,512,994 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,157,847. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $30.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.58. The Simply Good Foods Company has a 52 week low of $28.14 and a 52 week high of $40.53. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Geoff E. Tanner acquired 6,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $33.11 per share, for a total transaction of $200,315.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 98,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,251,070.90. The trade was a 6.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.35% of the company's stock.

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.