Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $115.00 to $135.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Sprouts Farmers Market traded as high as $120.69 and last traded at $120.45, with a volume of 85509 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $119.32.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on SFM. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $111.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 1,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $192,532.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,165.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.60, for a total value of $104,625.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,868,513.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 1,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $192,532.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,237 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,165.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 124,142 shares of company stock worth $12,401,112. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,107,000 after acquiring an additional 973,666 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 593,600 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,577.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 452,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,980,000 after acquiring an additional 435,767 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 9.8% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,336,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,419,000 after acquiring an additional 297,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 41.3% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 804,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,271,000 after acquiring an additional 235,100 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a PE ratio of 37.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.16. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of fresh, natural, and organic food products under the Sprouts brand in the United States. It offers perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat and meat alternatives, seafood, deli, bakery, floral, and dairy and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.