Royal Bank of Canada Initiates Coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM)

Equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.80% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on SFM. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $89.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.56.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock opened at $102.10 on Thursday. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $39.50 and a one year 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,718 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total value of $440,686.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 256,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,785,102.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,651,373.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,718 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total transaction of $440,686.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 256,716 shares in the company, valued at $19,785,102.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 128,939 shares of company stock worth $12,571,295. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFM. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter worth $29,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% during 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.

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.