Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Fred’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRED) in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock.
A number of other research firms have also issued reports on FRED. Deutsche Bank AG reiterated a hold rating and set a $17.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of Fred’s in a research note on Saturday, June 3rd. TheStreet lowered Fred’s from a c- rating to a d rating in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Finally, ValuEngine lowered Fred’s from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Fred’s currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $12.60.
Shares of Fred’s (NASDAQ FRED) opened at 6.10 on Thursday. Fred’s has a 52 week low of $5.62 and a 52 week high of $21.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.45 and a 200 day moving average of $12.03. The firm’s market cap is $232.11 million.
Fred’s (NASDAQ:FRED) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 6th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.03. Fred’s had a negative net margin of 4.94% and a negative return on equity of 3.93%. The company had revenue of $532.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Fred’s will post ($0.41) earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. Fred’s’s payout ratio is -8.54%.
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new position in Fred’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,058,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Fred’s by 32.8% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,126,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,761,000 after buying an additional 278,250 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Fred’s by 485.6% in the first quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC now owns 292,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,836,000 after buying an additional 242,781 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Fred’s by 5.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,254,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,630,000 after buying an additional 170,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Fred’s by 24.2% in the first quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 776,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,172,000 after buying an additional 151,144 shares during the last quarter.
About Fred’s
Fred’s, Inc (Fred’s) is engaged in the sale of general merchandise through its retail discount stores and full service pharmacies. The Company sells general merchandise to its over 20 franchisees. The Company has approximately 660 retail stores, over 370 pharmacies, and approximately three specialty pharmacy facilities located in over 15 states mainly in the Southeastern United States.
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