Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stake in PetIQ, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETQ)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of PetIQ, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETQ) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 264,324 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,018 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in PetIQ were worth $5,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PetIQ by 13.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,918,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,794,000 after acquiring an additional 226,718 shares in the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of PetIQ in the third quarter worth $2,738,000. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PetIQ by 66,316.4% during the third quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 92,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,832,000 after buying an additional 92,843 shares during the period. EAM Investors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PetIQ by 70.7% during the third quarter. EAM Investors LLC now owns 194,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,833,000 after buying an additional 80,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of PetIQ by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 416,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,212,000 after acquiring an additional 50,647 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of PetIQ from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

PetIQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PETQ opened at $18.69 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $550.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 311.50 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.43. PetIQ, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.92 and a 1-year high of $22.98.

PetIQ (NASDAQ:PETQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $219.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.70 million. PetIQ had a net margin of 0.19% and a return on equity of 11.72%. Analysts forecast that PetIQ, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

About PetIQ

PetIQ, Inc operates as a pet medication and wellness company in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Products and Services. The company offers Rx pet medications, which sells flea and tick control, heartworm preventatives, arthritis, thyroid, diabetes and pain treatments, antibiotics, and other specialty medications; and develops and manufactures its own proprietary value-branded products, as well as third-party branded products for dogs and cats.