Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.43 EPS

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $1.43, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $288.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.73 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $56.25 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.12 and a 200 day moving average of $66.12. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.76. Freshpet has a 12 month low of $46.76 and a 12 month high of $164.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.81, a quick ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy R. Mclevish purchased 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $56.00 per share, with a total value of $196,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 35,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,240. This trade represents a 11.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jacki Sue Kelley purchased 814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $56.50 per share, for a total transaction of $45,991.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,745.50. This trade represents a 7.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 6,008 shares of company stock worth $332,305 in the last three months. 4.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in Freshpet by 41.0% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,217 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 278.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 859,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,444,000 after buying an additional 632,756 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 224.2% during the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 368,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,009,000 after buying an additional 254,500 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 635,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,194,000 after acquiring an additional 245,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Freshpet by 53.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 426,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,004,000 after acquiring an additional 148,164 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRPT has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Freshpet from $90.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Freshpet from $65.00 to $48.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.47.

About Freshpet

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.