National Beverage (NASDAQ:FIZZ) Trading 1.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ)’s stock price rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $42.50 and last traded at $42.44. Approximately 25,394 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 177,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of National Beverage from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

National Beverage Stock Up 2.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.11.

National Beverage (NASDAQ:FIZZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.03). National Beverage had a return on equity of 42.80% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company had revenue of $267.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.22 million.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of National Beverage by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,747,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,247,000 after acquiring an additional 31,062 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of National Beverage by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,248,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,281,000 after purchasing an additional 32,003 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of National Beverage by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 721,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,805,000 after buying an additional 15,734 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of National Beverage by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 295,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,589,000 after buying an additional 28,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in National Beverage by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 271,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,592,000 after buying an additional 7,075 shares during the period. 23.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About National Beverage

National Beverage Corp., through its subsidiaries, develops, produces, markets, and sells a portfolio of sparkling waters, juices, energy drinks, and carbonated soft drinks primarily in the United States and Canada. The company's Power+ brand portfolio offers sparkling water products under the LaCroix, LaCroix Cúrate, and LaCroix NiCola; non-carbonated flavored water under the Clear Fruit; energy drink and shots under the Rip It; juice and juice-based products under Everfresh, Everfresh Premier Varietals, and Mr.