Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in The Simply Good Foods Company $SMPL

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) by 26.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 415,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 145,810 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Simply Good Foods were worth $5,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Simply Good Foods by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 88,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,795,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Simply Good Foods by 125.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Simply Good Foods by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Simply Good Foods by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in Simply Good Foods by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 23,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 88.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Clayton C. Daley, Jr. purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.78 per share, for a total transaction of $117,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 111,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,316,332.54. The trade was a 9.83% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 8.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research note on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Simply Good Foods from $39.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $15.00 price target on Simply Good Foods in a report on Friday, July 10th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Simply Good Foods in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Simply Good Foods from $32.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Simply Good Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.20.

Simply Good Foods Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SMPL opened at $10.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.36. The Simply Good Foods Company has a 1-year low of $10.12 and a 1-year high of $33.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 4.80 and a quick ratio of 3.10. The company has a market cap of $942.98 million, a PE ratio of -4.91 and a beta of 0.13.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.07. Simply Good Foods had a negative net margin of 14.28% and a positive return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $356.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Simply Good Foods’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Simply Good Foods Company will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

About Simply Good Foods

Simply Good Foods Co (NASDAQ: SMPL) is a North American consumer packaged foods company specializing in better-for-you nutrition products. The company’s portfolio centers on two well-established brands, Atkins and Quest, which offer a range of low-carbohydrate, high-protein bars, powders, shakes, and snacks. Simply Good Foods aims to support consumers’ health and wellness goals by delivering convenient, nutrient-dense options without added sugars or artificial sweeteners.

Under the Atkins brand, the company produces meal replacements, snack bars, and ready-to-drink shakes designed for low-carb dieters.