The Simply Good Foods Company $SMPL Shares Bought by Woodline Partners LP

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 The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,664,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 163,720 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned about 1.65% of Simply Good Foods worth $57,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 138.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 216,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,433,000 after acquiring an additional 125,608 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 444,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,324,000 after acquiring an additional 56,122 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Simply Good Foods in the 4th quarter worth $217,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 88,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,442,000 after acquiring an additional 32,800 shares in the last quarter. 88.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SMPL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Simply Good Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. UBS Group set a $36.00 price target on shares of Simply Good Foods and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Simply Good Foods from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Simply Good Foods from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.88.

Simply Good Foods Stock Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:SMPL traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.14. The stock had a trading volume of 929,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,062,658. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.16. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.59. The Simply Good Foods Company has a twelve month low of $27.01 and a twelve month high of $40.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.95, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $380.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $381.68 million. Simply Good Foods had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Simply Good Foods Company will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Simply Good Foods

In related news, CEO Geoff E. Tanner bought 6,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,251,070.90. This trade represents a 6.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 9.35% of the company's stock.

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.