Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $96.56.

SFM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $102.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.38, for a total transaction of $476,433.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 245,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,452,113.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.38, for a total transaction of $476,433.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 245,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,452,113.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joel D. Anderson sold 20,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.16, for a total value of $2,005,032.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,809 shares in the company, valued at $1,808,673.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 128,939 shares of company stock valued at $12,571,295. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 66.6% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 19,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 7,901 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 929,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,721,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 430,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,708,000 after acquiring an additional 10,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 23,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM stock opened at $102.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $93.46 and its 200 day moving average is $78.68. Sprouts Farmers Market has a 52 week low of $39.50 and a 52 week high of $104.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.16. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 27.53% and a net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current 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.