Swiss National Bank Increases Stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,650 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of Freshpet worth $13,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $817,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,945,000 after acquiring an additional 28,743 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,650,000 after acquiring an additional 37,287 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Freshpet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,088,000 after purchasing an additional 2,291 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 198.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after purchasing an additional 253,679 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $85.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.17 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $127.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.23. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.27 and a 52-week high of $164.07.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The business had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.46 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer cut Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.67.

Freshpet 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.