The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.22.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Simply Good Foods from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stephens cut their price objective on Simply Good Foods from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Simply Good Foods from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Simply Good Foods Trading Down 0.4 %

Simply Good Foods stock opened at $38.30 on Friday. Simply Good Foods has a 52-week low of $30.00 and a 52-week high of $40.53. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.42.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $341.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.32 million. Simply Good Foods had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Simply Good Foods will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph Scalzo sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.99, for a total transaction of $899,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,009,951.96. This represents a 15.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timothy Richard Kraft sold 76,761 shares of Simply Good Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.60, for a total value of $2,886,213.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,506,556.80. The trade was a 65.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 327,869 shares of company stock worth $12,139,570. 9.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simply Good Foods

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMPL. Nkcfo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simply Good Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 313,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,227,000 after purchasing an additional 46,375 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Simply Good Foods by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 253,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,893,000 after purchasing an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 302,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,807,000 after buying an additional 85,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.45% of the company’s stock.

About Simply Good Foods

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, protein chips, and recipes under the Atkins and Quest brand names.