Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on SFM. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $154.48 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $126.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.35. The company has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.92, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Sprouts Farmers Market has a one year low of $41.27 and a one year high of $155.64.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total value of $577,628.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 222,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,485,650.88. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,516 shares of company stock valued at $4,465,466 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SFM. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.9% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.5% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter.

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.