Freshpet (FRPT) Q1 Earnings: What To Expect

Pet food company Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) will be reporting earnings tomorrow morning. Here's what investors should know.

Freshpet beat analysts' revenue expectations by 5.3% last quarter, reporting revenues of $215.4 million, up 29.9% year on year. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' revenue and earnings estimates.

Is Freshpet a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free.

This quarter, analysts are expecting Freshpet's revenue to grow 29% year on year to $216.1 million, improving from the 26.7% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $0.05 per share.

The majority of analysts covering the company have reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. Freshpet has missed Wall Street's revenue estimates twice over the last two years.

Looking at Freshpet's peers in the perishable food segment, some have already reported their Q1 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Cal-Maine's revenues decreased 29.5% year on year, beating analysts' expectations by 1.5%, and Pilgrim's Pride reported revenues up 4.7%, falling short of estimates by 1.5%. Cal-Maine traded up 3.5% following the results while Pilgrim's Pride was also up 1.6%.

Read our full analysis of Cal-Maine's results here and Pilgrim's Pride's results here.

Investors in the perishable food segment have had steady hands going into earnings, with share prices flat over the last month. Freshpet is down 5.7% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $118.2 (compared to the current share price of $109.5).

When a company has more cash than it knows what to do with, buying back its own shares can make a lot of sense–as long as the price is right. Luckily, we’ve found one, a low-priced stock that is gushing free cash flow AND buying back shares. Click here to claim your Special Free Report on a fallen angel growth story that is already recovering from a setback.