The Simply Good Foods Company $SMPL Position Raised by Covea Finance

Key Points

• Covea Finance increased its stake in The Simply Good Foods Company by 21.2% in the second quarter, owning a total of 245,500 shares valued at approximately $7.76 million.
• Several research firms recently adjusted their target prices for Simply Good Foods, with Mizuho lowering its target from $47 to $43 and UBS setting a target of $36, indicating mixed analyst sentiment.
• CEO Geoff E. Tanner purchased 6,050 shares of the company for approximately $200,315, increasing his ownership stake by 6.57%.

Covea Finance boosted its holdings in The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Free Report) by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 245,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 43,000 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance owned 0.24% of Simply Good Foods worth $7,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in Simply Good Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Simply Good Foods during the 1st quarter worth $55,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Simply Good Foods by 59.7% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Simply Good Foods by 2,055.7% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Simply Good Foods during the 1st quarter worth $105,000. 88.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SMPL. Mizuho lowered 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 research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Simply Good Foods from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group set a $36.00 target price on shares of Simply Good Foods and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Simply Good Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.88.

Simply Good Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ SMPL opened at $26.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.95 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The Simply Good Foods Company has a 1 year low of $26.10 and a 1 year high of $40.53.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Geoff E. Tanner purchased 6,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.11 per share, with a total value of $200,315.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 98,190 shares in the company, valued at $3,251,070.90. This represents a 6.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Simply Good Foods 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SMPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.