Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $40.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $37.00.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on SMPL. Mizuho dropped their price target on Simply Good Foods from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Simply Good Foods from $42.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $42.18.

Simply Good Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SMPL opened at $35.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 4.91, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.08 and its 200-day moving average is $36.63. Simply Good Foods has a 1-year low of $29.40 and a 1-year high of $40.15.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $324.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.35 million. Simply Good Foods had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 10.62%. Simply Good Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Simply Good Foods will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Geoff E. Tanner acquired 6,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.61 per share, for a total transaction of $250,778.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 33,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,026.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Simply Good Foods news, Director Brian K. Ratzan sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total value of $11,334,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,372,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,635,203.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Geoff E. Tanner acquired 6,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.61 per share, with a total value of $250,778.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 33,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,026.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 11.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simply Good Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Simply Good Foods by 4.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 1.3% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 24,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Simply Good Foods by 7.2% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 6,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Simply Good Foods by 235.7% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Simply Good Foods by 6.2% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. 88.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simply Good Foods Company Profile

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, pizzas, protein chips, and recipes, as well as licensed frozen meals under the Atkins, Atkins Endulge, and Quest brand names.