Hancock Whitney Corp Grows Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 0.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 195,138 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 851 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $16,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.8% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of SFM opened at $105.70 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.50 and a fifty-two week high of $107.90. The firm has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.48.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.53%. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on SFM shares. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.22.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 56,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $5,680,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,089,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 56,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $5,680,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,089,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total transaction of $48,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,651,373.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 123,221 shares of company stock valued at $12,130,609 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.