The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,270,000 shares, a decline of 23.6% from the March 31st total of 2,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 965,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simply Good Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Simply Good Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,028,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Simply Good Foods by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 56,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simply Good Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $540,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of Simply Good Foods by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 33,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Simply Good Foods by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares during the last quarter. 88.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SMPL. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $42.00 price target (up previously from $41.00) on shares of Simply Good Foods in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Simply Good Foods from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Simply Good Foods in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.14.

Simply Good Foods Price Performance

Shares of Simply Good Foods stock traded down $0.15 on Monday, hitting $34.25. 543,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 927,960. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a current ratio of 4.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.76. Simply Good Foods has a 52 week low of $30.00 and a 52 week high of $43.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69.

Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. Simply Good Foods had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 10.12%. Research analysts expect that Simply Good Foods will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simply Good Foods Company Profile

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.