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

Shares of The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.22.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of 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 reduced their price objective on shares of 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 increased their target price on Simply Good Foods from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Simply Good Foods Price Performance

Shares of SMPL stock opened at $39.06 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.28. Simply Good Foods has a one year low of $30.00 and a one year high of $43.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 4.05 and a quick ratio of 2.75.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The company had revenue of $375.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $373.07 million. Simply Good Foods had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 10.46%. Simply Good Foods’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Simply Good Foods will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph Scalzo sold 2,374 shares of Simply Good Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $86,010.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 136,830 shares in the company, valued at $4,957,350.90. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timothy Richard Kraft sold 21,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total transaction of $774,128.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 40,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,462,482. The trade was a 34.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 327,869 shares of company stock worth $12,139,570. Insiders own 10.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Simply Good Foods

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMPL. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Simply Good Foods during the second quarter worth about $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Simply Good Foods by 236.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simply Good Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 31.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Simply Good Foods during the second quarter worth $159,000. Hedge funds and other 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.