The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Simply Good Foods has an average rating of "Hold" from 14 analysts, with 9 holds, 4 buys, and 1 sell. The average price target is about $19.82.
• Recent analyst revisions were mostly negative: Several firms cut their price targets, including Stifel Nicolaus to $20 from $32 and Deutsche Bank to $13 from $16, while Jefferies upgraded the stock to buy but trimmed its target slightly.
• Insiders have been buying shares: Directors Clayton C. Daley, Jr. and James M. Kilts both purchased significant amounts of SMPL stock, suggesting some confidence from company insiders despite the weak share performance.

The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.8182.

SMPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Simply Good Foods from $32.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Simply Good Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, March 16th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $14.00 price target (down from $24.00) on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research note on Friday, April 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Clayton C. Daley, Jr. purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.78 per share, for a total transaction of $117,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 111,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,316,332.54. This trade represents a 9.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James M. Kilts bought 80,000 shares of Simply Good Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.39 per share, with a total value of $991,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 172,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,141,661.06. The trade was a 86.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 8.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,631,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $213,479,000 after acquiring an additional 249,405 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,288,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $106,443,000 after acquiring an additional 346,395 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,645,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,169,000 after acquiring an additional 14,089 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Simply Good Foods by 10.0% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 3,635,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,169,000 after purchasing an additional 330,330 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Simply Good Foods by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,124,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,663,000 after purchasing an additional 469,903 shares during the last quarter. 88.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simply Good Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ SMPL opened at $12.57 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.56 and a beta of 0.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.25 and a 200 day moving average of $15.91. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Simply Good Foods has a twelve month low of $10.21 and a twelve month high of $34.19.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. Simply Good Foods had a positive return on equity of 9.72% and a negative net margin of 7.46%.The business had revenue of $326.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $345.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Simply Good Foods will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simply Good Foods Company Profile

Simply Good Foods Co NASDAQ: SMPL is a North American consumer packaged foods company specializing in better-for-you nutrition products. The company’s portfolio centers on two well-established brands, Atkins and Quest, which offer a range of low-carbohydrate, high-protein bars, powders, shakes, and snacks. Simply Good Foods aims to support consumers’ health and wellness goals by delivering convenient, nutrient-dense options without added sugars or artificial sweeteners.

Under the Atkins brand, the company produces meal replacements, snack bars, and ready-to-drink shakes designed for low-carb dieters.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.