Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Neogen Corporation $NEOG

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ:NEOG) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,048,922 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,191 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Neogen were worth $5,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Neogen during the second quarter worth $50,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Neogen during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Neogen in the second quarter valued at about $56,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Neogen by 181.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 7,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Neogen by 183.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 12,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 8,196 shares during the last quarter. 96.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Neogen Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Neogen stock opened at $10.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of -3.95 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.77. Neogen Corporation has a 1 year low of $3.87 and a 1 year high of $11.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.91 and a quick ratio of 2.80.

Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $224.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.50 million. Neogen had a positive return on equity of 2.14% and a negative net margin of 68.47%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Neogen Corporation will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NEOG. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Neogen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Neogen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Neogen in a report on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 target price (up from $8.00) on shares of Neogen in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price target (up previously from $6.50) on shares of Neogen in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Neogen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.67.

Neogen Company Profile

Neogen Corporation is a global provider of food and animal safety products, offering a broad portfolio of diagnostic and testing solutions. Headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, the company develops and manufactures tests designed to detect foodborne pathogens, allergens and toxins in food, beverage and environmental samples. Since its founding in 1982, Neogen has focused on delivering rapid, accurate and user‐friendly assays to food processors, grain handlers and quality laboratories around the world.

In the food safety arena, Neogen’s product lineup includes immunoassay kits, molecular diagnostics and enrichment media for pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria and E.