Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Makes New $1.25 Million Investment in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,250,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1,585.0% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 674 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $122,000. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 10.4% in the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period.

Freshpet Trading Down 1.4%

FRPT stock traded down $0.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.76. 1,070,673 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,243,545. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 228.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.79. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $75.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.49. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.75 and a 52-week high of $164.07.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial cut Freshpet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 price target on Freshpet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Benchmark dropped their price target on Freshpet from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen cut Freshpet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $96.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "sell" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.