Raymond James Financial Inc. Increases Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 760,602 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 24,131 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 1.56% of Freshpet worth $63,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Freshpet by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 10.4% during the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on FRPT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group started coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Freshpet from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.29.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock opened at $60.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.81, a quick ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 90.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.77. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.08 and a 12-month high of $164.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $68.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.81.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $264.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.75 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 3.23%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) EPS. Freshpet has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

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.