StockNews.com Upgrades Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) to Buy

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on SFM. Bank of America lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $1.69 on Friday, hitting $134.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,296,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,476,002. The stock has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.48. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 1-year low of $48.49 and a 1-year high of $155.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $642,310.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,718,959.64. The trade was a 2.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 65,569 shares of company stock valued at $9,117,886 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,295,000 after purchasing an additional 593,600 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,634,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,107,000 after buying an additional 973,666 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 156,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,053,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,138,000 after acquiring an additional 28,636 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

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.