Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Rating Increased 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 Friday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on SFM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $134.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.58. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $48.49 and a one year high of $155.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.48. 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 data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total value of $642,310.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,004 shares in the company, valued at $23,718,959.64. This trade represents a 2.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was 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 represents a 3.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,569 shares of company stock worth $9,117,886 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $60,000.

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.