Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Freshpet, Inc. has a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from analysts, with one sell rating, six hold ratings, and eight buy ratings, setting an average target price of $109.29.
• The company's most recent earnings report showed $0.33 earnings per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue grew by 12.5% year-over-year, totaling $264.69 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard and Wasatch Advisors, have significantly increased their holdings in Freshpet, indicating growing confidence in the company's future performance.

Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.2857.

FRPT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 target price on shares of Freshpet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freshpet from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Freshpet from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT traded down $0.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $52.93. 484,590 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,351,189. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.72. Freshpet has a 1-year low of $52.27 and a 1-year high of $164.07. The company has a quick ratio of 3.75, a current ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $264.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.75 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.82%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. Freshpet has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that Freshpet will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freshpet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Freshpet by 450.6% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,823 shares of the company's stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Freshpet by 124.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 241,196 shares of the company's stock worth $20,060,000 after purchasing an additional 133,539 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Freshpet by 40.0% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 70,000 shares of the company's stock worth $5,822,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in Freshpet by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 98,481 shares of the company's stock worth $14,586,000 after purchasing an additional 6,776 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Freshpet by 31.6% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 282,840 shares of the company's stock worth $23,524,000 after purchasing an additional 67,866 shares during the period.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and markets natural fresh meals and treats for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells dog food, cat food, and dog treats under the Freshpet brand name; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online.