AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.97 Million Holdings in The Simply Good Foods Company $SMPL

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its holdings in The Simply Good Foods Company by 273.9%, owning 57,006 shares valued at approximately $1.97 million by the end of the first quarter.
• CEO Geoff E. Tanner purchased 6,050 shares at $33.11 per share, increasing his ownership by 6.57% to a total of 98,190 shares, valued at over $3.25 million.
• Simply Good Foods reported $0.51 earnings per share for its latest quarter, beating expectations, and forecasted 1.78 EPS for the current year, with analysts rating the stock as a 'Moderate Buy'.

AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Free Report) by 273.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 41,758 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC owned about 0.06% of Simply Good Foods worth $1,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Simply Good Foods by 18.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,195,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $144,703,000 after acquiring an additional 649,258 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 52.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,539,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,087,000 after purchasing an additional 527,089 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 3,306.7% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 460,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,963,000 after buying an additional 447,300 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Simply Good Foods during the 1st quarter worth $14,509,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Simply Good Foods in the first quarter worth $14,151,000. Institutional investors own 88.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SMPL shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Simply Good Foods from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price target on shares of Simply Good Foods and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Simply Good Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $36.00 price objective on Simply Good Foods and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.88.

Simply Good Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SMPL traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 612,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,120,904. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $31.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.59. The Simply Good Foods Company has a fifty-two week low of $28.14 and a fifty-two week high of $40.53.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Geoff E. Tanner bought 6,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.11 per share, with a total value of $200,315.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,251,070.90. The trade was a 6.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 9.35% of the company's stock.

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.