Woodline Partners LP Purchases 163,720 Shares of The Simply Good Foods Company $SMPL

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in The Simply Good Foods Company by 10.9%, owning about 1.65% of the company worth approximately $57.4 million.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their holdings, with Wellington Management Group boosting its stake by 18.3% during the same period, reflecting strong interest from hedge funds.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Simply Good Foods, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.88.

Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,664,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 163,720 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 1.65% of Simply Good Foods worth $57,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simply Good Foods during the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Simply Good Foods during the first quarter worth $1,437,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simply Good Foods during the first quarter worth $712,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 24.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 0.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 255,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Simply Good Foods from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price objective on Simply Good Foods and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Simply Good Foods from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group set a $36.00 price objective on Simply Good Foods and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Simply Good Foods from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.88.

Simply Good Foods Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Simply Good Foods stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 929,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,128,452. The Simply Good Foods Company has a 12 month low of $27.01 and a 12 month high of $40.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.36 and a 200 day moving average of $33.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.95 and a quick ratio of 2.46.

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

Insider Activity at Simply Good Foods

In other news, CEO Geoff E. Tanner purchased 6,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Simply Good Foods Company 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.