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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SFM. Bank of America boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 6.2 %

SFM opened at $153.66 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52 week low of $61.61 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.43.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. On average, equities analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. The trade was a 9.12 % 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 this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total value of $31,929.47. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. This trade represents a 2.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,534,466 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 67,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,428,000 after buying an additional 7,204 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 11.3% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 9,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 88.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 71,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,948,000 after acquiring an additional 33,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,259,000.

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.