Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Shares of The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $33.19, but opened at $35.45. Simply Good Foods shares last traded at $36.84, with a volume of 222,235 shares changing hands.

The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $359.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.50 million. Simply Good Foods had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SMPL shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Simply Good Foods from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Simply Good Foods from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.22.

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Insider Transactions at Simply Good Foods

In other Simply Good Foods news, SVP Stuart E. Jr. Heflin sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.25, for a total value of $186,250.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,839 shares in the company, valued at $478,252.75. This trade represents a 28.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Simply Good Foods

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Simply Good Foods during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 72.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simply Good Foods by 255.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 215.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Simply Good Foods by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.45% of the company's stock.

Simply Good Foods Stock Down 2.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a current ratio of 4.23. The business's 50-day moving average is $35.74 and its 200-day moving average is $36.32.

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.