PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 29.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,556 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FRPT. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 1,585.0% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at $122,000. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter worth $211,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FRPT shares. DA Davidson set a $101.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Freshpet from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 price objective on Freshpet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.36.

Freshpet Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $64.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.75, a current ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.21. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.60 and a 52-week high of $164.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.85, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.77.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $264.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $269.75 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 3.23%. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Freshpet Company 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.