Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 25,484 Shares of The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 105.6%, owning 49,615 shares valued at approximately $1.71 million after acquiring over 25,000 additional shares in the latest quarter.
• The company's CEO, Geoff E. Tanner, purchased 6,050 shares at an average cost of $33.11 per share, raising his total ownership to 98,190 shares worth about $3.25 million.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Simply Good Foods with an average price target of $39.88, despite some price targets being adjusted downward in recent reports.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Free Report) by 105.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 25,484 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Simply Good Foods were worth $1,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Simply Good Foods by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 9,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Simply Good Foods by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,708,000 after buying an additional 141,021 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Simply Good Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $44,006,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Simply Good Foods by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Simply Good Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. 88.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simply Good Foods

In related news, CEO Geoff E. Tanner purchased 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.11 per share, for a total transaction of $200,315.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,251,070.90. This trade represents a 6.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Simply Good Foods from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Simply Good Foods from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Simply Good Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Simply Good Foods has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.88.

Simply Good Foods Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of SMPL stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.87. 389,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,105,715. The Simply Good Foods Company has a fifty-two week low of $29.73 and a fifty-two week high of $40.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 3.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.59. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $32.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.85.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.01. Simply Good Foods had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $380,956 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.68 million. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Simply Good Foods Company will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

About Simply Good Foods

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.