Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) 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 traded.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho decreased their price target on Simply Good Foods from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMPL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Simply Good Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Simply Good Foods by 255.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Simply Good Foods by 215.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Simply Good Foods by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 88.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simply Good Foods Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.28.

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.