Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 133,539 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 124.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 241,196 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 133,539 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of Freshpet worth $20,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the 1st quarter valued at $923,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the 1st quarter valued at $561,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the 1st quarter valued at $1,472,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Freshpet by 450.6% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Freshpet by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 14,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on FRPT shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $119.14.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT traded down $2.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.39. 922,338 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 952,969. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 220.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.79. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.75 and a 52 week high of $164.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.91 and a quick ratio of 3.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.54.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $263.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.57 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.16% and a net margin of 1.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Freshpet 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.