Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) Trading Up 4.9% – Here’s What Happened

The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) shares rose 4.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $20.09 and last traded at $20.04. Approximately 588,812 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 1,290,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SMPL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research note on Monday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $24.00 target price on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Simply Good Foods from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Simply Good Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.78.

Simply Good Foods Stock Up 5.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.37.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $369.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $369.07 million. Simply Good Foods had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 10.06%. Simply Good Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Simply Good Foods Company will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Simply Good Foods

In related news, CAO Timothy Allen Matthews sold 5,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.47, for a total transaction of $114,074.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 18,065 shares in the company, valued at $351,725.55. This trade represents a 24.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christopher J. Bealer purchased 9,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.01 per share, with a total value of $199,019.46. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,966 shares in the company, valued at $659,649.66. The trade was a 43.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 9.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Simply Good Foods

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 2.7% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,194,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $179,160,000 after purchasing an additional 134,618 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Simply Good Foods by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,288,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,443,000 after purchasing an additional 346,395 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Simply Good Foods by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,195,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,703,000 after purchasing an additional 649,258 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,645,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,169,000 after purchasing an additional 14,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 3,520,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,390,000 after buying an additional 486,837 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.